A grassroots, unofficial helping network now called Revelstoke Unstuck started at the beginning of 2020 when Sandra Gregory picked up a stranger walking through the snow in the dark in the Big Eddy.

"I basically stopped and said, I need you to get in my car," said Gregory.

It was Edith Rudyk, 88 at the time, who Gregory said is the true founder of Revelstoke Unstuck. That year started with record cold temperatures and snowfall, Rudyk couldn't get her car out of her driveway, and she didn't ask anyone for help. She went with her cane through the deep snow and black ice to her church group.

"I was on my way over to the Big Eddy Pub because the United Church women were going to have a supper there," Rudyk said.

Full interview with Edith Rudyk:

She said she was in front of the forestry office when Gregory stopped and offered her a ride.

"She said anytime I needed help just give her a call," Rudyk said.

"I gave her my number and just said, 'There’s help there, please just give me a call, because it’s cold and I don’t want to ever see you doing that again.'" Gregory said.

Rudyk gave out Gregory's number to her friends.

"I just trust people," Rudyk said, "I took her at her word, and she lived up to it."

That was the beginning of Revelstoke Unstuck.

Rudyk and her friends called Gregory from landlines starting at six in the morning, asking for rides, to be shoveled out, help moving furniture⁠—anything.

That ride turned evolved into a network of 15 dedicated volunteers and around 40 people who needed help.

"The more I would show up the more it would work, and then I just started, people started, helping," Gregory said.

Revelstoke Unstuck changed Gregory's life.

"I have met some of the toughest seniors," she said, "I hope I am that fiery at 88, 90."

At the same time, she became very close with two other people who stepped up to volunteer, Ella Carmichael and Celine Rytz.

Full interview with Sandra Gregory (be warned of the background noise from a coffee shop):

Better at home

Rudyk, now 90, has lived in her house in the Big Eddy since she and her husband built it in 1957, and she says she'll live in it until she dies.

"I'm very independent," she said.

Now, Rudyk gets help around the house from the Better at Home program, run by Community Connections.

Better at Home is funded by the B.C. government, managed by United Way and facilitated by Deborah Hogan at Community Connections. The program started in Revelstoke in March. They offer rides, light housekeeping, what Hogan calls, "friendly visits," and they do group activities like coffee socials and going out to shows.

They have 40 clients, and seven volunteers. The program pays for people to give clients rides, shovel and do housekeeping. Volunteers do the visiting and group activities.

There is an intake process, which Rudyk said wasn't a problem. She said she just called the number.

"They're a wonderful group, I know that. I sure appreciate what they've done for me."

Hogan says about 20 per cent of Revelstoke's population is senior citizens, many of whom live independently.

The program allows Rudyk to continue living independently. "I just do what she can," she says, saying she was shoveling her own snow this winter until she connected with Better at Home.

If you'd like help from Better at Home, or to volunteer, call 250-814-6131.

Click below to listen to a full interview with Deborah Hogan and Erin MacLachlan from Community Connections: