Senior center employee starts gofundme for Petaluma woman living out of car

PETALUMA, Calif. (KTVU) - The American Society on Aging based in San Francisco reached out to KTVU about helping a homeless woman living out of her car in Petaluma.

A staff member tells us she is fearful the 63-year-old woman won't survive the cold weather. KTVU found Laurie Ross parked in a lot.

She says she's been living in her car for five months. "Patience and nerves [torturously] gone, I wonder and wait for what comes with the dawn." reads Ross from her handwritten notes.

She writes poetry—a way to ward off the bleak cold overnight hours spent in her car. Ross says a full night of sleep has been impossible.
　
We have been stuck here, right here for months,'' said Ross.

The former waitress says she started living out of her car with her dog Snug when things didn't work out with a roommate.

But over time, her car started developing mechanical problems and the heater stopped working.

"I fell asleep one night ---didn't have any blankets and then there's ice on the window," said Ross. She says at times, she felt hopeless, but that changed last night.

"I was up all night determined," said Ross.
　
Desperate for help to get her car fixed, Ross made a phone call Wednesday morning after looking up a nonprofit at random: the American Society on Aging in San Francisco.

She reached a staff member there who told her the agency doesn't provide direct services. That person was Patricia Morazan.

"We hung up. It kind of felt heavy on my heart," said Morazan.

"How can you not have that kind of help for seniors. Her dying in her car was what sat in my heart," said Morazan who also got on Facebook to spread the word among friends.

"One of them suggested I contact KTVU," said Morazan.  She started a gofundme account called, 'Help for Laurie', seeking $1,500. 

Ross says she has received some help from charities. They've given her blankets, food and water. Now, she has renewed hope thanks to Morazan whom she hasn't even met .

When KTVU asked Ross if she had anything to say to Patricia, Ross replied, "Her name is not Patricia, it's Mrs. Claus. That's what her name is."

The two women tell me they hope to meet each other sometime before Christmas.