Pressure on as fundraising deadline looms for Habitat family

THUNDER BAY – Taisha Hrycyshyn just wants her family together for Christmas.

An anonymous donor, promising $50,000 toward a Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay build, wants to make it happen.

But the pressure is on.

The donor has challenged the public to match his donation by June 30, which would net the charity the money to build the family a home.

To date it’s been a struggle for the Hrycyshyn family, whose 14-year-old son was diagnosed with a severe case of cerebral palsy and his parents told he likely wouldn’t live beyond his second birthday. He’s defied the odds, but the lack of an accessible home makes it tough for the youngster – who can’t be named – to live full time with his mother, step-father and three half-siblings.

“The kitchen is too small to have him join us for family meals, and while we do our best, the living room can barely hold the six of us together,” Taisha Hrycyshyn said on Friday, standing on a small plot of land on Finlayson Street in the city’s south end, where they hope to have a new home to call their own by December.

“Maneuvering his wheelchair around this main floor is nearly impossible.”

Getting the youngster to his second-floor bedroom requires her husband Andrew’s help, and it’s a struggle to lift the teenager into the bathtub at their present residence.

“Having an accessible home would mean the world to our family. It would make life that much easier to care for our son,” Taisha Hrycyshyn said, choking back tears.

“We would have the space we need to move around, do his care, give him proper personal care, give him time with his family and also be safer for all involved in the care for him. Most importantly, we would be able to have our son home with his family.”

Habitat for Humanity Thunder Bay CEO Diane Mitchell said the donation came as a surprise, but she’s confident the community can rally around such a great cause and help the Hrycyshyn family into a more suitable home.

“We’re pushing. We can’t fail. If we fail and we can’t get the money, it means this family isn’t in a home at Christmas. So it means we have to wait another year until we can gather the money, get to another build season and start next year,” Mitchell said.

The campaign is already off to a strong start. Kris and Sharon Knutsen of Thunder Bay were on hand on Friday and donated $10,000 to the cause.

Habitat for Humanity builds homes through volunteer effort and provides low-interest mortgages to families who otherwise might have difficulty obtaining a home loan.

Donations can be made online at www.habitattbay.com or by phoning 345-5520.