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Community rallies to give Lake Country woman her dream home after husband’s death

Alicia and Josiah Black have always dreamed of turning a bus into their own tiny home

A Lake Country mother had her wish granted by one of her friends and a generous community.

Alicia Black’s husband Josiah died suddenly at Spion Kop Summit in June of this year. Lake Country RCMP said officers received a report of a deceased man on the popular hiking trail just after 9 a.m. on June 16.

Police said they didn’t suspect anything criminal in his death, but the cause of his passing is still being investigating by the B.C. Coroners Service.

Josiah is survived by his wife Alicia and their daughter. At the time of his death, Alicia was already pregnant with their second child.

Alicia regularly volunteers for Mamas for Mamas along with her friend Payton Gosselin. Gosselin recognized what a difficult year this has been for Alicia, losing her husband so suddenly and now having to raise two young children on her own.

So she reached out to brand strategist Sunny Lennarduzzi who currently has an initiative called “Hero Story”, where community members vote for an individual they think is a hero and deserves a special treat for all they do. Gosselin voted for Alicia.

She mentioned how Alicia and Josiah have always dreamed of building their own tiny home out of a school bus. Now, Lennarduzzi and her team have stepped in to help make Alicia’s dream come true.

“This is going to be your home, and you don’t have to think about it. You don’t have to worry about it,” Lennarduzzi said to Alicia.

“And we’re also going to get it turned into something that can generate income for you as well as an Airbnb, we’ve got all of that covered.”

Two days after she was told her dream home has been taken care of, Alicia gave birth to her second child.

A GoFundMe was launched in the summer for the family, which is still open for donations. If you wish to donate, click here.

READ: Man found dead on Lake Country trail identified as Hollywood actor


Twila Amato
Video journalist, Black Press Okanagan
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Twila Amato

About the Author: Twila Amato

Twila was a radio reporter based in northern Vancouver Island. She won the Jack Webster Student Journalism Award while at BCIT and received a degree in ancient and modern Greek history from McGill University.
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