Help Save Pat’s Home — A Vietnam Veteran in Need

A few months ago, what started as a simple transaction unexpectedly turned into a beautiful friendship.

We met Pat — a Vietnam Veteran with one of the kindest hearts and sharpest minds you could ever meet. He is incredibly intelligent, resourceful, and genuinely sees value and potential in everything around him. Unfortunately, over time, that has also contributed to severe clutter and hoarding conditions on his property and inside his home.

Pat also lives with PTSD and anxiety from his time in Vietnam. The pressure and fear of losing his home has become overwhelming for him.

Recently, the City of Salt Lake has begun taking action against the property. They have already entered the property once and discarded belongings that were still meaningful and actively being used. The city is now requiring major cleanup and improvements, and there are growing concerns that if enough progress is not made, his home could eventually be condemned.

That possibility is devastating.

Not only would Pat lose his home, but he could also lose the one thing that brings him peace and comfort every single day: his chickens.

His hens are truly his family. Watching him quietly sit with one of his chickens in his lap and visibly relax is something difficult to put into words. They calm his PTSD and anxiety in ways that are hard to explain unless you witness it yourself.

My husband Russ and I simply could not stand by and watch him go through this alone.

Over the past several weeks, we have spent countless hours helping clear debris, haul garbage, organize the property, and restore dignity back to his yard and home. We have already made major progress, and for the first time in a long while, we can physically see the stress beginning to lift from Pat’s shoulders.

But there is still a long road ahead.

The city requires additional cleanup, repairs, and improvements — including securing and covering the chicken coop, continued debris removal, dump fees, cleanup supplies, hauling costs, storage solutions, safety repairs, and eventually restoring safe living conditions inside the home itself.

Over the past few months, Pat has slowly begun trusting us with an extremely personal and difficult situation. Because of his PTSD, anxiety, and the sensitive nature of the conditions inside the home, we are trying to keep the restoration process calm, private, and limited to people he knows and feels safe around.

Many people may kindly want to volunteer their time in person, and we deeply appreciate the compassion behind that. However, at this stage, the most helpful support is financial assistance toward cleanup costs, hauling, dump fees, materials, repairs, transportation, project coordination, and the time required for us to continue helping him consistently.

As experienced contractors, we are able to safely handle the cleanup, repairs, and restoration work necessary to help keep Pat in his home while preserving his dignity, trust, and emotional well-being throughout the process.

Our goal is simple:

To help Pat keep his home, keep his chickens, improve his living conditions, and restore a sense of peace, safety, and dignity to his life.

Every donation — no matter the amount — will go directly toward helping make that possible.

We are committed to documenting the progress being made and sharing updates along the way so supporters can see the direct impact their donations are having on Pat’s home, safety, and quality of life.

If you are unable to donate, simply sharing this fundraiser would mean the world to us.

Thank you for helping us remind a Vietnam Veteran that he is not forgotten.

— Cymony & Russ