Lynn (Schutzman) and Dogs Continue to Need Help

Friends of the King of Prussia community,

Please know that this story and plea for help is as legitimate as it is heartbreakingly sad. For 2+ years a woman from our own community, a retired pharmacist who has fallen on extraordinarily tough times, has been living in her car along with her two beloved dogs (ages 14 and 8). Her name is a Lynn. She drives the streets (when she has gas) of KoP and usually settles in for lengths of time at both Heuser and Walker parks as well as in the covered part of the Target parking lot. She drives a silver Mercedes Benz SUV which makes most people drive right on by her- why would anyone think that someone driving a Benz would be homeless?? If you could see and/or smell the inside of that vehicle you would never be the same again. This woman has some severe health conditions that render her almost completely immobile although she does somehow manage to get around very slowly.

This woman has gone completely unnoticed (through much fault of her own- pride, etc.) by absolutely everyone in our town for over two years! Up until today, she never wanted to admit to anyone, including her physicians, that she is homeless. She puts on a front to most people who know her because she is embarrassed (as you can imagine) of what has happened to her. We spoke to the UM police and they are very aware of this person. They said she is sweet and never bothers anyone but that yes, she is one of “King of Prussia’s homeless”. Once a month, if she has enough money, she rents a room at Motel 6 and takes her “monthly” shower. We stopped at the hotel and they know her well and had nothing but nice things to say about her. They too had no idea that she was homeless and thought that she stayed with them while “visiting relatives”. By the way- she has no relatives. Or friends for that matter. And for anyone that did know her- She just kind of disappeared into thin air a few years ago when her home went into foreclosure while she was inside of a nursing home healing from cancer and an aortic aneurysm.

So. All this being said, we need to help this woman. NO ONE should ever have to live the way she is living. And these poor dogs have nowhere to even stretch their legs! (They are well fed though- she feeds them before she feeds herself). We need to help find low income, long term housing for her and her dogs. Leaving them is non-negotiable. We also need to find somewhere for her to live in the meantime. Motel 6 seems like the best bet at about $70/night. They allow her dogs too.

From the bottom of our hearts we are asking for any type of help that you can offer this woman. The only easy way to accept help for her is through a Go Fund Me page. I hate to use this method because of its recent negative publicity but i don’t know any other way for people to safely donate. Of course we’re also looking for help in where to look for housing, gas and food gift cards, and anything else that you can think of. One big problem is that her car is packed with “stuff” so she doesn’t have a lot of room for donations. We will always make sure that she and the dogs have food to eat but we can’t afford to pay for her hotel on our own.

If you saw this situation it would break your heart. It has been life changing for us. I don’t know how I’m ever going to sleep again knowing what I now know. If you can’t donate and perhaps just want to check on her well being- you can almost always find her in the Target parking lot across from the beer distributer during the day and over closer to the large cement wall at night. That’s where she lives... but we are hoping to change that really soon.

Thank you for any help or advice you can give. ❤️


- Jenn & Melissa, organizers