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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday December 30, 2006 - 5 Wrong number helped young mother get back on her feet By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF Cindy accidentally dialed a wrong phone number and it turned life around for her family ­ just in time for Christmas. "When we moved here, we had absolutely nothing," said the Oakville resident, who requested her last name be withheld for privacy reasons. "I had two suitcases for the kids and a gym bag for myself full of clothes. That was it." But everything changed in early December when the 30-year-old mother of two, Nathan, 5, and Alyssa, 1, was calling the Salvation Army to ask for help and mistakenly dialed a different number. "I hung up and didn't leave a message because I realized it was the wrong number," she said. "A couple of hours later I got a phone call from a woman, who said, did you call here earlier today? How can I help you?" That woman was Wendy Perkins, and the conversation that followed was the beginning of a new start for Cindy's family. Perkins is executive director of Home Suite Hope, a homelessness initiative that provides shared living accommodation for people in a housing crisis. While Cindy had already found housing for her family, Perkins was able to help her because she also provides links to organizations to help get people back on their feet. "She's just an amazing person," said Cindy, smiling. "Within a day, she was calling me to say, I have donations of linens, donations of clothes, do you want them? I said, RON KUZYK / OAKVILLE BEAVER THANKS FOR A HOME SWEET HOME: Cindy and her two children, Nathan, 5, and Alyssa, 1, relax in their Oakville home, which has largely been furnished by donations from Home Suite Hope and other charitable agencies.The donations helped the young single mother get back on her feet. `Are you kidding?'" Cindy's home is no longer empty. Through Home Suite Hope, she was put in touch with local Rotary Clubs, RBC, The Salvation Army, Halton Women's Place and other organizations that have donated to help her family. "Everything here is donated," she said, standing in her living room, which is now complete with a television, shelving and a couch. Washer, dryer, dining room table, lamps, couches, beds, linens, clothing, toys ­ all of these things have been donated to Cindy and her kids. "You name it, they donated it," she said. "Once I came here, Home Suite Hope got me pretty much every available community service to help me out." And they haven't stopped. "They keep bringing us food," she said. "Wendy calls me every week to check up on me and make sure I'm doing ok. She's just amazing. "When she first started bringing donations over here, I'd cry my eyes out. I'd cry every time. She's just an amazing person. Wendy Perkins is my resource centre." And Cindy found her just in time for Christmas. "Look at all this," she said, surrounded by recently-opened Christmas gifts, all of them donated. "Toys for the kids, snow suits, make up, linens, clothes, hair products ­ we got everything. I actually have enough toys to give the kids another Christmas," she said. "I was trying to tell them to take some of it back to give to other deserving families. It's just amazing. "If it wasn't for Home Suite Hope and Halton Women's Place, a certain person wouldn't have been able to come here this year for Christmas," she added, mouthing `Santa' so Nathan and Alyssa couldn't hear. Home Suite Hope and Halton Women's Place also brought over turkeys for Christmas dinner. "The people are amazing. I consider them my family now," Cindy said, smiling. "And it's all because of that accidental phone call. Had I not made that call, I would still be struggling." The struggle began after Cindy left an eight year relationship with her common law partner, who's also the father of her children. "We had nowhere to go," she said. "We had nothing." After staying in various shelters from August to November, Cindy found social housing in Oakville. See Helping page 7