Former Homeless Teen Starts Homemade Dress Business

Story originally published on nbc4i.com.

High school senior Jimelle Levon used to be homeless. When he was in fifth grade, he and his mother lived in a shelter together. Jimelle started shoveling snow and doing other odd jobs to make some money.

When he was 14, he taught himself to sew and turned his small bedroom into a 'Sewing Lab.' Now, Jimelle is 18 and is using his love of sewing to become an entrepreneur – selling handmade prom dresses. He makes three to four custom dresses every week during prom season,  earning between $300-$450 for each dress.

Jimelle, who was working two after-school jobs, was able to quit both to sew as his main source of income. What started as a teenager working on sewing projects in his bedroom is rapidly growing into a bigger business. Jimelle plans to continue growing his dream by attending Clark Atlanta University next fall to study business and fashion.