This time last year, Arizona was 3 years old and attending daycare full-time. Her mother had a full-time job and her family had a house in Ottawa, Ontario.

So much has changed since then. Arizona and her family are now homeless. And they desperately need our support.

Here's what happened:

Arizona was not able to attend public school full-time in September 2025 due to a shortage of educational assistants (EAs). She couldn't start school until the middle of October because the support she needed was not in place. Her family was told the best the school could do was 25% EA support, and that Arizona would need to start at just one hour a day. While other OCDSB students attended school for 30 hours a week, Arizona could only attend 5 hours a week. This continued until November 2025 when Arizona’s time increased slightly.

Arizona is autistic, non-verbal, has severe developmental delays and visual impairment. She needed a lot more support than the school board provided in the fall of 2025.

By February 2026, discussions began with CHEO and the school. Arizona’s parents were desperate to know: when will their daughter’s time at school increase? They were told, unfortunately we don’t have the funding and it’s not safe for her to be at school without an EA. We are trying everything we can.

The school board did not step in to help the family by providing the school with an emergency EA.

Money was already tight after Arizona’s father was laid off the year before. He was a supervisor for a call center and was told, “I’m so sorry, but we need to lay you off, our doors are shutting.” He has since applied to over 100 jobs without success.

In February 2025, Jennifer’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. In July 2025, Jennifer moved in with her mom to help her with radiation treatment. Just five months later, in December 2025, she passed away.

Four months after Jennifer’s mother died, her family lost their home. By March 2026, they were homeless. They had to move into a shelter.

While Arizona’s older siblings have managed to adjust to the drastic change, Arizona struggles every day. She is only four years old. She is autistic, non-verbal and severely delayed. She does not understand why she cannot go back home, the only home she has ever known.

Jennifer had to go on leave because the loss of her mother and added stress of advocating for Arizona while having to look after her at home made it incredibly difficult to manage a demanding position.

Imagine losing your parent, having to take leave from your full-time job, and losing your home in less than a year. Jennifer and her family have experienced unimaginable loss in such a short period of time.

No family should have to lose their home because their child with special needs is not supported at school. All children with disabilities and special needs deserve to be able to attend school for the full day, just like their same-aged peers.

Please support this family and help them get back on their feet. Right now, they do not have enough money for groceries.

Arizona’s birthday is coming up soon. Let’s show this family some love and let them know that we, as a community, are here for them. Any amount you can donate will be greatly appreciated – even five dollars makes a difference.

Thank you for your support. ❤️

PS You can read the Ottawa Citizen article about Arizona here: https://ottawacitizen.com/news/raising-arizona-autism-services-crashing-down