The Oakville Beaver, F rida y A u g u s t 22, 2003 - 3 Woman has trouble escaping homeless trap (Continued from p a g e 1) As if on cue, two cats begin to graze their noses adoringly against her palm. All the cats have been spayed or neutered and all have had their vacci nations. She feeds them regularly and keeps the litter, which sits at the right hand side of the rear of the van, clean. A water dish sits not too far away. She had an ingenious idea of using a Tupperware container and cutting out part of the plastic lid just big enough for the cat's head. The sides are pro tected so the water won't spill while the car is moving. Reiss' world came to a tumultuous change four months ago when she was evicted from her 3,000 sq. f t south Oakville home after 31 years. After re-mortgaging her home to pay for a divorce from her ex-husband of 20 years, she struggled to make ends meet as a single mother. She said she worked jobs around the clock, but she wasn't getting any closer to finding relief. She worked as a warehouse driver, school bus driver, security personnel, a cleaner, and landscape maintenance staff. It still wasn't enough. Surgery on her right foot for a bunion and ingrown toenail in February caused her to be off her feet and unable to work for months. Her foot hasn't healed properly and she is unable to bend her toes. As a result she had to give up her career as a professional driver after 14 years. "Everything just collapsed on me Barrie Erskine · Oakville Beaver After losing her house, all Elisabeth Reiss feels she has left of her past life is her eight cats. this year," said the 52-year-old. rary, she has no idea how to get her gamer attention from police. But her She is trying to get her life back on self out of it biggest fear is having her 12-year-old track, but it seems wherever she turns She gets a $495 a month govern van breakdown and not having she hits a brick wall. ment assistance cheque and said it's enough money to fix it. She tries not "Everywhere I go, it's `I can't help just barely enough to pay her insur to think about it you. Sorry,"' said Reiss. ance, gas, any car repairs, cigarettes, "If it breaks down, I don't know She has gone to sleep at different food, and cat food and litter. what I'll do. This is my home," she shelters, but unable to take her dear She washes herself in gas station said. companions with her, Reiss fears for sinks, but hasn't had a real shower in With tears in her eyes she said, their lives if they are alone. more than three weeks. She also "I'm not happy," and reveals the time "I can't sleep knowing my cats are washes her socks and underwear in she attempted suicide by walking in in the van and knowing that someone the sink. For food she buys items that front of an incoming train along the could come by and set them free or will last a while in the heat like bottled Fourth Line tracks. steal them or worse - kill them," she water, bread, peanut butter, jam and Pushed out of the way by onlook said. instant coffee. These are her staples. ers, she was taken to OakvilleInstead, she has chosen to stay put She hasn't eaten meat since April. Trafalgar Memorial Hospital for two in the van with them. Though she Reiss drives from location to loca weeks and has regular doctor visits to stressed her situation is only tempo- tion every three hours, so she doesn't discuss her depression. She has been prescribed medication for her bouts of depression, panic attacks and sleeping problems. "I heard the train as if it was so far away, but I didn't move. I didn't care," she said. Though she regrets the attempt she explained she still smokes ciga rettes because in one way she hopes she does get cancer so she doesn't "have to worry anymore." `I 've smoked since I was 18 years old. It's a nervous habit and I just need to do something to take my mind off of things. But then you also hope that you will get emphysema and cancer and you die," she said. Though Reiss may sound as if she has given up hope, her thoughts on the future are the exact opposite. She is currently looking for an affordable apartment that allows pets and is also trying to get subsidized housing. She will send her application soon to the Halton Housing department Her biggest concern at the present time, though, is getting her items that she moved from her home out of storage, but she is overdue with her payments. If she does not pay the $4,000 owing, her items will be auc tioned off by Aug. 30. 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