Generous stranger gifts displaced Illinois woman a home on wheels

(WIFR) – An Illinois woman has lived out of storage units and make-shift tents for more than a year after being displaced, but after a selfless donation that will soon change.

Many items were on 69-year-old Sarah Wright’s wish list this year, but a new van was not one of them. Now, she’ll be able to officially call the donated van her new home.

“In the summer, I’d fill it full of water and let it heat up. I’d pull it in the door and take a bath with it,” said Sarah.

“I learned of this and I’m like it’s not gonna happen. I cannot let this woman….It’s not gonna happen, I’m not gonna let it happen,” said Brad Parkinson, the kind man who donated a van to Sarah. A camper is also donate to Sarah which will be gifted to her from Charlie Kitzmiller.

For 18 months, Sarah has lived under a make shift roof unable to find a permanent home for her and her service dog, Luna. This comes after her apartment building was condemned in 2020 after Sarah fell and hurt her back―which is why she uses Luna as her mobility service dog.

“They would say it’s available, they were happy you know you have a good credit report. As soon as you told them you have a service dog, well somebody took that apartment. Well you can’t prove discrimination,” explains Sarah.

She says every landlord, and some shelters, have turned her away because of Luna, so the two have traveled from different campgrounds to keep themselves alive.

“When she see’s a UHAUL she has a panic attack because she thinks ‘oh no we’re moving again.’ I’ve spent three birthdays in the back of a UHAUL,” Sarah explains, “I want to secure my animals safely. I want to get a job, go back to work I got a lot of good skills and save up and I’d like to by land.”

Sarah says her love for camping has been the one skill that’s kept her alive. She uses multiple tarps with a water proof tarp to keep her tent dry and warm, she has a water filtration system that helps keep water clean, she uses a warming rod to boil water and create a warm bath, and so much more.

“There like what they would use in the hospital to give people baths. So you don’t need to rinse,” said Sarah.

Keeping herself and her dog safe aren’t the only ways she’s been resourceful. Sarah also knows how to take precaution in natural disasters.

“I’ve been through three tornados where we’ve had to run and go into the shelter of the bathrooms,” Sarah explains.

She thinks nobody see’s her as someone who used to have a life and a career, but hopefully that will soon change. She says, “It’ll forever be in their mind that I was a homeless person.”

Some ways you can help Sarah out is by dropping off a monetary donation at any Napa Auto Parts story in the stateline or at their Men with Motorcycles event at Ogle County Brewing on Saturday, Dec. 23.

Sarah will receive her van next week on Monday and the camper will be gifted to her right before the Christmas holidays.

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