Hello, my name is Maureen O’Donnell. This request is on behalf of my son’s best friend Kevin and his mother Denise. Denise is a hard-working single mother to Kevin and the past year has been a very difficult year for them. They were asked to leave the rental they had been at for ~10 years in the fall, which left them with no place to go as they have no family in Canada. Denise’s hours were cut by her employer and even with full hours rent in Mississauga is out of their price range. Since November his mom and him have bounced around from friend's homes and although they truly appreciated them taking them in neither situation has worked out to be a long-term solution. The holidays were super difficult and they both tried to be positive even with everything was unknown and stressful

To make matters worse Denise’s old car broke down and she could not afford to fix it. Without transportation it makes it hard for Denise to travel to work and/or find other opportunities outside Mississauga. Kevin goes to High School with my son Declan and is part of a Sci-Tech regional program. If they moved away from the city, he would lose that opportunity. Kevin is a smart kid who is always trying to be positive, but it is hard to see him go through this. He is stayed off and on with us but being separated from his mother is not ideal.

They have been allowed back to their old rental until April but after that their options are unknown. I know everyone is struggling right now but all I can do is ask for help. They say it takes a village and I am reaching out to ours. I understand if you cannot support this GoFundMe but if not, I ask if you could please share it.

Our target is $5000 to help them purchase a new car and additional funds would be used towards helping them with rent. We will continue to try our best to help Denise and Kevin and hope that something good comes their way soon. I hope to show them that people do care and that 2024 can be a better year.

Thank you on behalf of my family, Kevin and Denise for your generosity and much love.

Maureen