P.E.I. woman struggling to rebuild after home burns
A P.E.I. woman is bracing for a long, cold winter after losing her home in a fire last September.
Vanda Milligan says she wants to build a mini-home on the Elmwood property, where she lived with her late husband for 21 years. There's also a barn on the property, which was spared by the fire. The barn is home to nine horses, several dogs and cats.
But Milligan, who does seasonal work giving horseback rides and harvesting potatoes, said she's had difficulty getting a mortgage.
She said the home was insured but it was only enough to pay the outstanding mortgage and the soonest construction could begin on a new home is the spring.
"It's now November. We started trying to get this all done the week after the house burnt in September," Milligan said. "It's just been dragging on one thing after another."
In the meantime, Milligan has been living with a friend in a camper on the property in order to take care of the animals.
She plans to live in the camper throughout the winter, even though it has no plumbing and no running water.
"It's been interesting coming up with ways to survive," she said. "If it wasn't for friends and family, being able to laugh at certain times and kind of make fun of our situation, it would be almost mind numbing and unattainable to realize you are existing."
Trying to raise money
Milligan's daughter Nancy says she's worried.
"It's cold, it's cramped but ... it's better than nothing," she said.
Nancy has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for a septic system, which she said needs replacing before a new home can be built.
Until then, Milligan said she's trying to remain positive.
"We're struggling, but we're doing," she said.
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