For the last year-and-a-half, Lisa Cowan and her dog have been living out of Cowan’s pickup truck after she fell on hard times.

Cowan was a caretaker for her father until he died, which is when she lost her place to live. Just before that, she was diagnosed with colon cancer, making her journey even harder. Cowan makes her way throughout Santa Clarita by moving locations often, but on one cold night, she didn’t think she was going to make it.

“My feet felt like they were just going to snap off. I felt so frozen. I just had nowhere to go and nobody to help me and I was just so tired,” she said, holding back tears.

In an act of desperation, Cowan posted on the Nextdoor app, asking for a blanket and some help. She couldn’t imagine the outpouring of support that soon followed.

First, it was Carolyn Rojas who saw Cowan’s posting and reached out to meet up with her and buy her a night at a hotel. Then, Rojas also turned to the Nextdoor app.

Soon, hundreds of messages started pouring in from people wanting to help. “They really care. They really stepped up. Even people who really couldn’t afford to help wanted to help,” Rojas recalled.

Thanks to donations, Cowans will be able to stay in the hotel for about 10 nights. On top of that, some people are paying for the veterinarian bills for her 14-year-old dog, Mello.

Cowan said she’s been taken aback by the kindness of strangers in her community.

“I know it’s short-term and it’s temporary, but I just have so much gratitude for the time I am having,” she said.