Homeless man creates smartphone app, hopes to help the environment

Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach him how to create computer software, and you feed him for a lifetime. That is how the saying goes, right?

A homeless New York City man named Leo Grand released a smartphone app called Trees for Cars on Tuesday, after learning how to code software over the last three months.

Grand’s story has been documented since August when he was approached by Patrick McConlogue, a professional programmer who offered him two options: $100 or a cheap laptop, programming books and daily computer coding lessons.

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As you might guess, Grand decided to take the lessons and become a programmer.

His work finally paid off Tuesday with the release of his Trees for Cars app, which is available for Android and Apple iOS devices.

Grand, who’s passionate about science and the environment, built his app so he could help lower the CO2 emissions caused by cars. His app, which costs $0.99, works by connecting nearby users who want to car-pool in order to help the environment.

After losing his job and his home about two years ago, Grand told CNN he hopes to get an apartment with the sales from his app.

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