Organization helps Fredericton senior and young son stay in their home

A 71-year-old-man and his 10-year-old son avoided becoming homeless after their electricity had been shut off for over a week.

Laddy Lyons said an overdue power bill forced his lights to get shut off nearly two weeks ago.

With no way to pay the charges, he had begun living mostly without electricity.

“I had run power from downstairs up here,” Lyons said of his set-up which consisted of an extension cord hooked into his landlord’s garage. “And I had a Coleman camp stove on top of my electric stove to cook on.”

At first his situation didn’t worry him too much; Lyons says he’s lived in worse conditions in the past.

That changed when he became ill on Monday night. After he called his ex-wife to advise her he’d need to bring their son back to her early she became concerned and called emergency crews.

“If she knows you’re sick she’s very determined, she’s going to get you help one way or another whether you like it or not,” Lyons explained with a laugh. “So she called an ambulance.”

Paramedics gave Lyons the help he needed but firefighters immediately identified several problems in the home.

“They had to put a new smoke detector up there and they took all my cords,” Lyons said. The then gave him a warning:

“We got to get you power or you got to get out of here.”

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Not wanting to see a senior and young boy become homeless the firefighters contacted Big Hearts Small City, a non-profit organization that helps those in need.

They were then able to help make a payment to NB Power to get electricity immediately restored, keeping Lyons and his son in their home.

“Anybody that helped, I’m so grateful and I don’t know how to thank them,” says Lyons.

After the recent payment, staff at Big Hearts Small City say they’re low on funds and in order to continue assisting the less fortunate they hope members of the public will step up to help them.

You can find more information on the organization on its Facebook page.