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Mom and daughter helped by kindness of strangers Juanita Meier and her daughter, Kylie, 9, share a moment at their car in Medford on Saturday. The pair are temporarily without a roof over their heads. [Mail Tribune / Jamie Lusch] Saturday May 6, 2017 at 6:59 PM May 6, 2017 at 7:31 PM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune When car troubles during Thursday night's thunderstorms left Juanita Meier's blue-green Hyundai SUV stranded in the South Medford Fred Meyer parking lot, the mother of two had already endured more than her share of hard knocks. Then community members stepped in to restore her faith in humanity. A former longtime resident, Meier moved to Arizona last year to stay with family after her daughter was assaulted by a local man. She returned in December to testify against the assailant, who remains incarcerated, but a series of trial delays cost Meier her job in Arizona while car troubles and a lack of stable housing left her homeless and couching surfing in the Rogue Valley. Between bouts of homelessness, Meier volunteered — in exchange for housing — as a caregiver for an elderly community member and alternated between sleeping in her car and scrounging for hotel rooms. Having slept in the parking lot several nights before Thursday's lightning-and-car-trouble-cocktail, the 49-year-old dreaded yet another night in the car. Far worse, when the car wouldn't start she worried how she would be able to warm the car for her 8-year-old daughter, whose ninth birthday was the next day. "We've been living in my car off and on since December, me and my youngest," said Meier. "... it's been the hardest time of my life. Somehow, amid tornado warnings, lightning strikes and thunderstorms on Thursday, hope arrived in the form of concerned community members who, one after another, contacted Compassion Highway Project founder Melissa Mayne. A quick social media post by Mayne garnered enough donations to provide two nights at a local hotel for the mother of two; a 13-year-old daughter is staying with friends while the mother and 8-year-old have rotated between hotel stays, sleeping in the car and "crashing with friends." "By the time I met them, several members of my group had messaged me and asked me to go check on them. I wasn't sure of their full story but I knew that no matter what we could figure something out," said Mayne. "That was the first thing I said to the mother: 'Don't worry. We are going to come up with something.' I don't think she would've even thought to ask for a hotel, but I didn't want to leave them there in the storm with the car stuck in the parking lot." Mayne, who facilitates a large regional outreach for homeless and struggling community members, said she was proud of the community for stepping up to help the mother-daughter pair to, at the very least, get hot showers and wake up indoors for at least a few mornings. Mayne said Medford residents "always do the right thing" and, more often than not, stories of someone in need are met with offers of help. "Usually, if I post it and it gets out, everyone is so good about giving just a little," Mayne said. "Everyone doing a small part is all it takes to make a big difference in someone's situation. Even if it's not a lot, feeling like someone cares is the main thing." Friday, from the Travel Lodge in Medford, a grateful Meier laughed as her daughter played with some of her birthday gifts from community members. At the same time she was determining the best walking route between the hotel and school and the hotel and her daughter's planned birthday celebration at a local park. While money for the hotel put a roof over their heads only until Saturday morning, Meier said her focus in the near term would be on her daughter's special day and the gift of kindness from strangers. With a job on the horizon, Meier said she was hopeful to "figure things out" until June 1, when she expects to move into a small apartment. "I have to have our basic needs met to be able to hold down a job. Just to find a place to sleep every night is taking up all my energy," she said of finding a job. For her daughter's birthday, she stuck with the basics, but still wanted the day to be special. "I got her earrings and a dress and shoes and we got her hair cut. That was all I was able to do. I got her cake on my food stamp card and we're doing a little party with her friends," Meier said. "It's been really, really hard, especially when it's been cold and then the rain was pretty crazy the other night with all the lightening. But I would definitely say I have more faith in humanity now than I did a few nights ago." Mayne said community members who want to help Meier can pay for all or part of a room, $65 per night, at the Travel Lodge at 954 Alba Drive in Medford. Travel Lodge is asking that donations be made in person. — Reach freelance writer Buffy Pollock at [email protected].