Hello, my name is Don and I'm trying to assist a homeless lady and her daughter that were abandoned by their family .

I noticed the car every day when I meet with friends for coffee in the early morning. They had been sleeping in their car every night in the Walmart parking lot. It was getting colder and so I approached the Lady (Patty) to ask if she was homeless to which she replied, yes. I offered her a $100 gas card to keep the car warm. She at first refused but I insisted. As time went on, I came to know more about her situation. Her Husband was killed in a snowmobile accident in 2013. Until that time they had led a very good life . With the death of her husband , she turned to her son to help manage the finances. She took care of his young children. Eventually, he took over what was rightfully hers from her late husband's estate. She was left with only her limited Canada Pension , OAS and her daughters disability pension. They acquired an apartment for a number of years but then were renovicted. They found that rent on apartments had sharply risen and the current monthly rent was out of reach for them. In addition they had no savings left to put up first and last month payment.

They have been living out of their car for months relying on their pension income to keep the car running and buy meals. The car is very old and failing, they have two little Pomeranian dogs ( therapy dogs) one of which requires veterinary care and will soon need to be put down. They have tried to get community help to no avail as they are swamped with the number of homeless. The temperature is dropping to -28C. They are in total despair .

I have helped them a great deal but I can't continue to finance them .

There are many homeless people on the street but this one really tugs at my heart and I want desperately to help them get out of the cold and on their feet once again in a modest and affordable place to live.

Please open your heart and know that any donation you can afford is going to a good cause to rescue two undeserving people from the cold.