UPDATE!

In large part thanks to Donna, we were able to secure long term housing for Rhea!

Rhea moved in today with her new roommate Bobby whose wife passed during covid and was having a hard time finding a roommate.

They met and hit it off immediately.

Thank you to everyone who contributed and if you're friends or family with Donna, congratulations on having such an amazing person in your life.

~Alec and Sandee

Hi, I'm Alec, AKA TheSoulCab.

Rhea used to be a regular customer in my taxi before Covid, she was always nice with quirky and fun conversation.

I recently ran into her downtown and was shocked to see her sleeping on the sidewalk, her situation exacerbated by her mobility issues.

I bought her a sleeping bag that night and came back the next day to get her help. I'm not a religious guy but I prayed for her that night.

That day I reached out to a local center for women and at my 2nd visit (Rhea didn't have the energy to walk to the center), I didn't know it but my prayers were answered when I met Donna, a volunteer.

We formulated a plan to meet up with Rhea in the afternoon who was sitting at the bus stop because it had a bathroom that would fit her shopping cart that she needed to walk. We wanted to at least get her into a shelter and off the street.

When I got there, Donna had already spoken to Rhea who didn't want to go to a shelter so Donna was able to get her into a motel for 5 nights.

Now Donna and I are working to find a Rhea a long term solution. Rhea gets a small amount from social security so we're looking for a room for rent or subsidized housing or other solution within her means.

This is the fork in the road for Rhea who has a back brace and swollen feet. After just one night in the hotel she told us, "This is the first day I have woken up without being in pain in a long time."

Rhea's husband died 30 years ago and her only family is her 94 year old, mentally ill mother back in Pennsylvania who would say unspeakably hurtful things to her and now doesn't even remember her.

We are taking her to the center on Monday to get her a case manager but in the meantime if we can raise enough money to get her stabilized in long term housing, she will live a normal life.

If she slips through the cracks again, at about 70 years old, sleeping on the street will take its toll quickly or perhaps more cruelly, slowly.

Rhea's positive attitude and genuine personality has made us resolute in our determination that her story will have a happy ending...but we need your help to get her on that path.

Thank you.