Julissa Gomez, 28, and Delmar Harter, 87, are unlikely best friends, but it’s a bond that’s been building for a decade.

“We met Delmar over 10 years ago when my parents bought their home in 2015,” Julissa tells Upworthy. “At first, our relationship was taking him to church and sharing meals here and there. But over time, we noticed that he was often alone during holidays and birthdays.”

Over the years, Julissa and Delmar have been through many ups and downs of life together that has made their friendship stronger.

“Delmar showed up for us in one of the hardest moments of our lives when my father passed away [in 2020], and that kind of kindness says everything about who he is. He’s definitely not just our neighbor anymore, he’s family,” she adds.

@julissa.and.delmar The Friendship Next Door with Delmar on Amazon📚❤️ #fyp #foryoupage #neighbors #thefriendshipnextdoorwithdelmar #julissaanddelmar ♬ I Thought I Saw Your Face Today – She & Him

The Friendship Next Door with Delmar on Amazon📚❤️ #fyp #foryoupage #neighbors #thefriendshipnextdoorwithdelmar #julissaanddelmar ♬ I Thought I Saw Your Face Today – She & Him

Delmar’s hearing aids are paid off

Gomez was able to surprise Delmar with the good news. Thanks to the success of the children’s book they wrote together called The Friendship Next Door with Delmar (published in 2025), was able to pay off his costly hearing aids. Gomez shared an emotional video on social media, with Delmar wiping tears from his eyes.

“His reaction was very emotional,” she tells Upworthy. “He was so grateful and honestly a bit overwhelmed. Seeing that joy and relief on his face reminded us exactly why we started all of this. It was a really special moment for all of us.”

With years of friendship under their belt, the pair wanted to share their story in a book that “encourages kids and people of all ages to be kinder and try to get to know your neighbors,” Julissa adds. 

The goal was to help raise money to support Delmar’s living expenses and health needs.

“We are so happy to now say that the book is now helping with his living expenses and things like his hearing aids,” she says. “Before he would just rely on his social security check, but now because of the power of the Internet his bills are all paid for.”

How Julissa and Delmar became family

When they first met in 2015, Julissa and her family embraced Delmar entirely.

“We made it a point to start celebrating those days with him. After so many years of holidays, birthdays, and any special occasion that we celebrated together we then welcomed him into our family, and he truly became a part of it.” she shares.

Julissa also notes that, “Delmar never married and his family live in other states, so we are the closest family he has now.”

Julissa’s husband, Anthony, has also become close with Delmar.

@julissa.and.delmar Replying to @ayumiishimine #fyp #foryoupage #neighbors #weddingphotos #julissaanddelmar ♬ original sound – julissa&delmar

Replying to @ayumiishimine #fyp #foryoupage #neighbors #weddingphotos #julissaanddelmar ♬ original sound – julissa&delmar

“After my dad passed away in 2020, my husband Anthony stepped in and took on a big role in continuing the love and care we had built as a family. Since then, my husband and Delmar have formed such a special bond. They are best of friends.”

Julissa hopes that her friendship with Delmar can inspire others.

“If there’s one thing we want people to take away, it’s that kindness doesn’t have to be big to make an impact,” she says. “Simply showing up for someone, especially during the times they feel most alone, can truly change a life.”

@julissa.and.delmar More bookstores should do pop ups at libraries❤️📚#fyp #thefriendshipnextdoorwithdelmar ♬ sonido original – PMusik21 – PMusik21

More bookstores should do pop ups at libraries❤️📚#fyp #thefriendshipnextdoorwithdelmar ♬ sonido original – PMusik21 – PMusik21

Many people were touched by Julissa and Delmar’s friendship, as well as the good news of Delmar’s hearing aids being paid off:

“I love him so so so much truly your story is the BEST.”

“As a millennial grown woman that never saw any of my grandparents maternal or paternal this is a gem. You’re so blessed to have found a soul needing of love and attention.”

“Oh now I’m cryingggg.”

“I know his mama looking down on you with so much love for taking care of her baby boy ❤️.”

“Something about an older man tearing up 🥹.”

“😭😭😭 I can’t stop crying. I’m happy that Grandpa Delmar is happy. Damn I’m just thankful he found the both of you.”

A single door can open up a world of endless possibilities. For homeowners, the front door of their house is a  gateway to financial stability, job security, and better health. Yet for many, that door remains closed. Due to the rising costs of housing, 1 in 3 people around the world wake up without the security of safe, affordable housing. 

Since 1976, Habitat for Humanity has made it their mission to unlock and open the door to opportunity for families everywhere, and their efforts have paid off in a big way. Through their work over the past 50 years, more than 65 million people have gained access to new or improved housing, and the movement continues to gain momentum. Since 2011 alone, Habitat for Humanity has expanded access to affordable housing by a hundredfold. 

A world where everyone has access to a decent home is becoming a reality, but there’s still much to do. As they celebrate 50 years of building, Habitat for Humanity is inviting people of all backgrounds and talents to be part of what comes next through Let’s Open the Door, a global campaign that builds on this momentum and encourages people everywhere to help expand access to safe, affordable housing for those who need it most. Here’s how the foundation to a better world starts with housing, and how everyone can pitch in to make it happen. 

Globally, almost 3 billion people, including 1 in 6 U.S. families, struggle with high costs and other challenges related to housing. A crisis in itself, this also creates larger problems that affect families and communities in unexpected ways. People who lack affordable, stable housing are also more likely to experience financial hardship in other areas of their lives, since a larger share of their income often goes toward rent, utilities, and frequent moves. They are also more likely to experience health problems due to chronic stress or environmental factors, such as mold. Housing insecurity also goes hand-in-hand with unstable employment, since people may need to move further from their jobs or switch jobs altogether to offset the cost of housing. 

Affordable homeownership creates a stable foundation for families to thrive, reducing stress and increasing the likelihood for good health and stable employment. Habitat for Humanity builds and repairs homes with individual families, but it also strengthens entire communities as well. The MicroBuild® Initiative, for example, strengthens communities by increasing access to  loans for low-income families seeking to build or repair their homes. Habitat ReStore locations provide affordable appliances and building materials to local communities, in addition to creating job and volunteer opportunities that support neighborhood growth. 

Everyone can play a part in the fight for housing equity and the pursuit of a better world. Over the past 50 years, Habitat for Humanity has become a leader in global housing thanks to an engaged network of volunteers—but you don’t need to be skilled with a hammer to make a meaningful impact. Building an equitable future means calling on a wide range of people and talents.Here’s how you can get involved in the global housing movement:

Speaking up on social media about the growing housing crisis 

Volunteering on a Habitat for Humanity build in your local community

Travel and build with Habitat in the U.S. or  in one of 60   countries where we work around the globe

Join the Let’s Open the Door movement and, when you donate, you can create your own personalized door 

Shop or donate at your local Habitat ReStore

Every action, big and small, drives a global movement toward a better future. A safe home unlocks opportunity for families and communities alike, but it’s volunteers and other supporters, working together with a shared vision, who can open the door for everyone. 

Visit habitat.org/open-door to learn more and get involved today. 

It’s no secret that work culture in Europe is a lot different from what it is in the United States. Europeans often get more time off and work fewer hours overall. Even so, you have to really live there to understand just how different things are.

Justyn Lee is doing exactly that. He is an American living and working in Paris, and even he was surprised after moving there to discover a few new things about the work culture. One major takeaway? In France, the month of May barely exists.

American living in Paris explains “le pont”

In a LinkedIn post, Lee explains that France has four official holidays in the month of May. That’s kind of a lot, but not totally unusual compared to what Americans are used to. In November, we have Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, while in January there’s New Year’s Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day. In France, there’s Labour Day, Victory in Europe Day, Ascension Thursday, and Whit Monday.

However, he notes that “France does not operate on days. It operates on proximity.”

Lee then explains something called “le pont,” which means “the bridge.” Whenever a holiday, or a day off from work, lands in the middle of the week, most companies just go ahead and make “the days in between disappear.”

Americans are familiar with “the bridge” in a few scenarios. Most businesses are closed the Friday after Thanksgiving, for example. But in France, while it’s not legally mandated, it’s culturally accepted that most holidays turn into a four-day weekend.

Lee says people take this opportunity to travel, go on vacation, or rest, only occasionally checking in on work. “Let’s circle back in June” is a common refrain.

“May is not a month,” he writes. “C’est la vie.”

It’s not just France that likes to stretch its holiday weekends

The concept of “bridge holidays” is almost universal across European and Latin American work cultures. It exists under different names in France, Germany (Brückentage), Spain (hacer puente), Brazil (imprensar/emendar/enforcar), and more.

There are tons of reasons for this extremely liberal vacation policy. European and Latin American countries have strong labor unions that protect workers’ rights, and most have universal healthcare, which lowers the economic pressures associated with working.

Though bridge holidays and large amounts of paid time off are not completely universal, the U.S. does seem to be in the minority by not........

© Upworthy