Safe Temporary Housing for Grandma

Hi, my name is Jennifer Aalders and I was not able to look the other way when I saw a vulnerable elderly women sleeping at a bus stop in Burnaby, BC while I was taking my dog to the park. We are calling her the Renegade Nona because she is standing her ground and not wanting her dignity and autonomy stripped from her.

My husband and I have been working non-stop since Saturday December 2nd 2023 to find immediate shelter for her and we have been working with lovely support workers in the system.

The road block that we are hitting is that the shelter infrastructure that is available in the Greater Vancouver Area, predominantly caters to individuals with addiction and mental health issues, or are fleeing domestic violence. Nona does not fit these demographics and the available shelters trigger a great deal of stress and fear in her, and her fears of these spaces are not unjustified. In addition, Nona has severe allergies to cigarette smoke and has sustained numerous injuries from being man handled and assaulted while being homeless and would be quite vulnerable in these spaces. Many shelters are not designed to be accessible for an aging population with varying mobility issues and some shelters even just have mats on the floor.

My husband and I don't want to give up on her and let her be failed by the system again. We will continue to support her and are working to get her to her doctors and into assisted seniors living, but we need community support to help get her housed immediately, off the streets and safe. We are looking for donations to help cover 3 months rent and any assistance people can provide in helping us find a rental in a safe neighborhood that is not too far so that we can continue to bring her food and get her to appointments. We are asking for $8,000.00 to cover 3 months rent and if we find an affordable rental the excess can help cover her food expenses. If we didn't live in a shoebox sized condo and we had a house of our own we would house her in a heartbeat.

I have obtained her permission to post this GoFundMe on the basis that her identity is not revealed. My identity and my husbands identities are public and you may look me up on LinkedIn or on my website at www.JLA-Studios.com. My husband is an aspiring actor and you can find his IMDB here: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm8749430/

I am not familiar with how GoFundMe works just yet, but I will try to post updates on GoFunMe or LinkedIn, or my website as we go so people can see the progress and be assured that their money is helping Nona. Please reach out if you need any further information.

And please be kind. Remember that Nona is not the only one going through this, there is an ever increasing need to support our Elders, especially ones who become vulnerable and just need a helping hand.

Getting to know Nona, she is the ideal Grandma, very kind and knowledgeable in natural remedies and healthy lifestyles. Her ideal place is a quite, smoke free, God centered space where she can garden. We have found this ideal space, but there is a whole process needed to get her on the waitlist but I am told that the wait wont necessarily be too long as people move into places that provide a higher level of care as they age and space frequently opens up.