A dying woman evicted from her Nanaimo home will be moving into a care home in the next few days thanks to community support.
Last week, Sharon Kowalchuk and her partner were given a verbal two-week warning to vacate her rented suite, while she’s dying from a terminal illness. She says her landlord cut their power and heat as well.
“My landlord just came up and told me I had to move in two weeks. No paperwork. Nothing,” she told CHEK News Thursday, in tears.
READ MORE: Dying Nanaimo woman evicted without cause, left without heat and power
Since then, a GoFundMe page has raised more than $35,000 to help Kowalchuk secure housing.
“That’s so wonderful. I couldn’t ask for more,” she said.
“Wow! That’s unreal,” says Sharon Kowalchuk at @CHEK_News viewers huge support for her. $35,000 raised will go to a care home bed she’ll move into as soon as tomorrow w/ her hubby and all funeral expenses, after I reported on the dying Nanaimo woman’s illegal eviction on Thurs.❤️ pic.twitter.com/K9d9oTWzAq
— Skye Ryan (@SkyeRyanCHEK) March 6, 2023
In the next few days, Kowalchuk and her partner will be moving into a care home for her remaining days.
The rest of the funds will be used to pay for future funeral costs she says she is sadly starting to plan.
A viewer has also volunteered a moving truck to pick up and move her belongings that are still in the apartment.
A storage unit is also being given to her, free of charge, for as long as she needs it.
Kowalchuk said she can’t believe the outpouring of kindness she has received.
“Wow, that’s unreal. That’s unbelievable. There’s good people out there for sure,” she said.
B.C.’s Residential Tenancy Branch’s Compliance and Enforcement Unit (CEU) is investigating the eviction.
READ MORE: Nanaimo landlord could face fines of up to $5,000/day for evicting dying tenant
On Monday, CHEK News reached out to the province for an update on the investigation.
In a statement, Ravi Kahlon, Minister of Housing, said that could not be provided as “it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further on the details of that investigation until it has been concluded.”
He added the CEU is interested in hearing from any other tenants that may have lived at the address in question during the months of January and February 2023.
Anyone with information that they believe could help the investigation is asked to contact the Residential Tenancy Branch either by phone at 1-800-665-8779, or email at [email protected].
Mackenzie Read
