Update 10/28: Patsy and Steve are both adjusting to life in the healthcare facility and both receiving physical therapy while there. We were able to get Patsy a new phone number so she is no longer scammed by “Mr. Gilbert.” Jeff went up and spent time with them on Sunday and will be going up tomorrow as well. I plan going up to see them Wednesday. Every time I tell them how much the community is behind them and all that’s been done or offered they cry. Still on the hunt for a one level home in Putnam County to rent. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and followed this story!

Update 10/26: Yesterday we were able to get Patsy’s and Steves larger items out of the house finally and moved to a storage unit thanks to Central Van and Storage. This company actually saw the story and reached out to me to help. They were wonderful. The owner Gene Papa and his guys deserve all the praise here because there’s no way we could have gotten this stuff moved without them. We also found out that Steve’s Xbox was missing and when we asked the property manager who would be liable for this she said it would be Patsy even though they were the ones that threw her stuff on the driveway. Not to mention the property manager admitted to taking a lamp because she said Patsy told her she could. I cannot imagine asking a 90 year old in a vulnerable state if I could take anything. My assumption is that they took Steve’s Xbox as well, which is very sad.

Patsy and Steve were both transported to a healthcare facility yesterday which is another step in the right direction so they can get therapy. Patsy will definitely need a week or two of physical therapy due to the stroke and effects it has had on her. The other blessing is that we got them in the same room and they were reunited after 4 days of not seeing each other. Next step is to find them a home that they can feel safe in and get home health care involved. Thank you to everyone who has donated so far, the support she and Steve have received from the community is amazing!

Update 10/24:We have made some progress since yesterday. We have worked with APS and found a room for both of them at Clay County Health for 1-2 weeks. This will make sure they are both getting the care they need while we focus on finding them a home. They were supposed to go today but they couldn’t transfer Patsy due to her blood pressure being too high. We are hoping we can get them both moved tomorrow. The community has been so amazing with help, donations, and recommendations so thank you! Two businesses who have really stepped up and deserve major kudos are Sleep Inn & Main Suites in Teays valley and Central Van and storage who both have offered free services for this family. Tomorrow the movers that central storage provided will be at the house at 8:30 to get all her furniture moved to the storage unit. We also have a very promising rental that may be ready for them in the next week or two thanks to Meek Rentals. Patsy and Steve are speechless by all the help they have received.

Update: 10/23: It was confirmed Patsy had a mini stroke on Monday. We have gotten APS involved and should get home health care approved for Steve soon. In the meantime we as neighbors have stepped up and checked on Steve and made sure he clean and fed. We are working with numerous resources to see where we go from here to find them a safe and stable home.

Main concern at this moment is finding them housing and working with property management to get furniture out of her home. They need this moved out by next Wednesday the latest and cannot let us do it on the weekends. Anyone willing to help move furniture would also be a need. Thank you for all the donations so far, Patsy is in awe of the support she is receiving.

In the midst of despair is when we need to know that people care. In the last couple of days, some of my friends have most likely seen a post on my Facebook about an elderly lady who was evicted from her home.

Myself and a couple others have met with Ms Patsy to determine what help we could extend to her and her son, Steve. For a little history, Ms Patsy is a 90 year old mother taking care of her son, Steve, who is 68 years old and suffers a debilitating disease known as Parkinson’s disease. She is his only caretaker and provider. Steve is 100% dependent on constant care for all of his daily needs. He is unable to walk, care for himself with respect to hygiene, requires assistance for bathroom usage, cooking, eating and transferring from his wheelchair to any other place.

Ms Patsy and her husband moved into their home more than 50 years ago. After his death, she has made every sacrifice to be able to remain there and provide a settled and stable environment for her son. As most of us have encountered, the cost of living has increased drastically. As has the cost of medicine and health care. Ms Patsy was forced to take Steve to a nursing home in the last few months, however, she knew he was not happy there or getting the best care like she could give him. So she chose to bring him back into her care. It is now such a dire situation that Ms Patsy can no longer afford her daily medication.

On Monday, 10/21, Ms Patsy was admitted to CAMC for stroke like symptoms and remains there as of this time. Leaving Steve at the hotel with no assistance. We have reached out to several Government State based agencies to implement assistance with regard to that situation. We are waiting to see what, if anything, can be done to provide help for his care. The unfortunate truth also lies in the harsh reality that prior to her husband’s death, he became tangled in a scam wherein a large portion of their money was sent to a “trusted source”. Not long after he passed, the scammers began the daily barrage of threats and attacks that came to rest on Ms Patsy’s shoulders. Unbeknownst to what her husband had dealt with, she became prey to the demands, the threats and the promises of an “Investigative firm” that had convinced her of her “contractual” obligation to send them a monthly amount. In return, this firm would “send a lump-sum amount to her to pay her house rent as well as provide her and her son ample money to have a very comfortable living.” This same firm also had reached out to her via the IRS (another level of the scammer’s threat) with documentation that a check for $10,000 would be directly sent to her bank. Although she kept inquiring as to “when to expect the funds?”, the promises continued, as well as the threats. Many calls and texts a week to her with confirmation that they knew where to come to make sure she cooperated. Ms Patsy has met with the State Police, provided all of the documentation she had and asked them to help her stop the threats she was receiving. To-date, there has been no action taken with regard to this plea for help. The firm had originally obtained her bank account information and upon realizing this, she opened a new account. This has continued for longer than Ms Patsy even realized.

Therein, she has exhausted more than her monthly housing budget to deter the threats from the investigative firm…eagerly waiting for her money she was investing to be returned with the promised gains. Again, adding the stress of taking care of her son, she felt like she was sinking in a sea with the only hope being the large amounts of money that “would soon be sent to her”. Unfortunately, this has, is and will continue to happen to people who are not savvy to just how the people who develop these scams work.

We all say that it won’t happen to us, but we learn daily of new avenues they have developed that we don’t even realize until it is done. Therein, they have been faced with being evicted from their home. As of last Thursday, most all that they own was moved to the curbside. A few of us were able to rent a storage unit and get the stuff transferred to a dry and secure space until we can try to help her in this situation.

Arrangements were then made for Ms Patsy and Steve to go to a motel for a couple of days and has since been extended to a week. This is where their journey essentially ends. They have no place to go once their stay has ended at the hotel.

Collectively, as a community and as friends, we are reaching out to you in hopes that we can rally around them. That we can let them know and feel that they are surrounded with understanding and grace. An army of one compares nothing to an army of many. What may seem like nothing or a minuscule thing to us, I promise you would seem like a huge amount to them. We are hoping that you can help us in this endeavor! We will be collecting monies to help them thru a couple different funding sources. The links will be listed below. As of today, the minimum needed is $4000.

Again, we realize this is a large amount and that is why we are extending a plea for help for them. An accounting method of monies received and where that money is being spent will be available for anyone who wants to help. I promise you that not one dime will be spent for anything other than what it will take to assure them a roof over their heads and to be able to have their personal belongings back in their care.

We know that the Holidays are upon us and that means it is even more crucial to pinch our Pennies. It is also the time of the year when we are reminded just how thankful we are for what we have been blessed with. Again, if you could help Ms Patsy and Steve in any way, it would not only be appreciated, but would absolutely change their lives. We have told her that we want to reach out to her neighbors and friends. She was in tears as she said, “it’s the only hope we have”.