A Helping Hand for Helen This is a funding request to help a vulnerable family through recent unforeseen hardship. My name is Fred Hnytka from Winnipeg, Manitoba. My sister, Helen Goga, has long provided for her family including her two children, Becky and Jason, to the best of her ability, despite many formidable challenges. Her daughter, Becky, was born with severe medical problems that required numerous operations and medical procedures, and these will continue for the rest of her life. Her son, Jason, fell victim to substance abuse many years ago and has also faced many medical, physical, and psychological challenges. Although this particular request pertains to my sister’s efforts to help Jason, as is so often the case, the entire family is impacted by what is going on in each of their lives. Both Helen and her husband, Alan, are elderly people – 72 and 86 years old respectively – who have worked their entire lives to be able to live reasonably comfortably. Unfortunately, Alan has recently moved into a nursing home as he is suffering from Parkinson’s along with cognitive disabilities. In 2024, in order to help their son with his recovery from addiction, Helen and Alan decided to purchase a small “affordable” home in Dawson Creek, BC so that he could move out of the squalor that he was living in in Vancouver. By cashing in whatever investments they had, and taking out a collateral mortgage on their own home located in Ontario, they were able to finance a “dream” home for Jason where he could find new roots and a fresh start. Jason moved into this small home in November 2024 and has been actively working to make the place livable. He seems to have found a new purpose in life and has remained “substance” free for the better part of two years. Unfortunately, significant problems began almost as soon as Jason moved in; various repairs were necessary – mostly cosmetic or minor to start with, but then graduated to more serious problems involving: plumbing, heating, as well as the structural integrity of the foundation that affects the overall condition of the building. A recent (second) home inspection done in July, 2024, details critical foundation issues and states: “A qualified licensed general contractor, and a Structural Engineer, should inspect further and repair as needed. Reinforcement, repair or possibly replacement of areas may be required. Further evaluation of the entire house foundation is required AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. It is likely for this home to continue to "move" and could result in further damages. The foundation wall is not properly supporting all areas of the home and is a very serious structural concern. Further evaluation is required as soon as possible. This may require replacement of the foundation and may incur very very large costs. This foundation does not appear to be adequately supporting home”. This all happened in spite of the fact that the vendors, realtors and home inspector never identified these issues at the time of purchase, and the buyer’s agent insisted the house was “solid”. Helen purchased the house for her son based on these assurances. Recent problems include the bowing of walls, the crumbling of the foundation and water problems. Current estimates put the cost of repair in the range of at least $50,00 to $100,000 to bring the house into a livable condition. These are costs that were not foreseen and with their life savings drained, their home mortgaged and their prospects of any additional income (other than government pensions) non-existent, Helen and her family are faced with financial hardship. Furthermore, Jason may become homeless if the house is unsafe to live in. It is doubtful that the home could be re-sold in its current condition to recuperate any of the costs. As such, we are appealing to the goodness of other people to help in any way they can with a financial contribution, the provision of goods or services in kind or even just encouraging thoughts – whatever is appropriate. We are hoping to raise enough money this year to get critical repairs done before winter sets in Dawson Creek. All funds will be forwarded directly to Helen who will be overseeing the restoration. Often hardships have a silver lining and this crisis has one too – Jason continues to be focused on his recovery from addictions despite all the associated stress. If you have any questions or would like any further information, you can call me, Fred Hnytka, through this site. Thank you for taking the time to read this. See the photos below:
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