Larry Hunter says his only Christmas wish this year is for better health and a place to live.
The 67-year-old and his 64-year-old wife Clara have been living in their car in Surrey for the past nine months, after a disagreement with their landlord over a refusal to fix a broken furnace.
"I can't see us making it through the winter if I don't find a place," he tells CTV News from a parking lot in Whalley.
Clara, who was sleeping during CTV's 1 a.m. visit, has been ill.
"She has lupus and fibromyalgia and high blood pressure," Larry says. "Everything just shut down."
The couple has tried to find shelter but have been turned away because they refuse to part with Pepper, their nine-year-old dog. The couple has been unable to find new accommodation that takes dogs and is affordable on their disability pension.
"He's family so there's no way we could go and not take him," he says.
Church volunteer Jerry Kupchuk has tried unsuccessfully for a month to get them help.
"She could die in her car and no one would know," says Kupchuk.
"I phoned Fraser Heath, mental health, I tried to get them assessed but they need an address -- they're homeless they can't do anything.
That's when Gerry called CTV.
"I was getting nowhere until social services found out that CTV had gotten a hold of it. Now they're calling me actually," he says.
Now Jerry has a line on a place in Langley but there are still a lot of hurdles to cross before the Hunters can move in.
Surrey Mayor Dianne Watts calls the situation "unacceptable."
"You know, we'd like to see these individuals placed right away," she says.
But so far there's been no room at the inn.
Watch CTV News at 5 and 6 Tuesday night for an update on Larry and Clara and their search for a home.
With a report from CTV British Columbia's Julia Foy
