Ledyard — As the winter months approached, Brad Kelsey was preparing to stare down the coldest months of the year out of his '88 Lincoln Town Car.

Standing over 6 feet tall, Kelsey and his two miniature poodles had little room to stretch out, and cold air kept seeping in since his car had been sideswiped.

"I slept in it when it was 4 degrees once," said Kelsey. "The dogs will cozy up to you to keep you warm and you'll have a couple of good blankets. It's not easy, but you'll survive."

He also had to keep moving his car because businesses would not let him park for extended periods of time.

But then a social media posting and a few random acts of kindness changed Kelsey's course rather dramatically. Now, he and his dogs will live out the winter in the warmth of a camper with a generator, both loaned to him by local residents.A local and his two rascals down on their luck

Although he was born in Providence, Kelsey, 60, has spent most of his life in Ledyard and Gales Ferry, moving here with his family when he was 5.

He said growing up, he had a good life. He went to Ledyard High School and his father served in the Coast Guard, then worked at Electric Boat. And although his father worked a lot, he always enjoyed the time with his kids and was never short for a good laugh.

After high school, Kelsey worked jobs in a lot of different areas, but was especially fond of cars and electronics. And as he got older, he remained close to his parents, caring for his mother when she was ill and then for his father from 2001 to 2009. Both have since died. 

When his father died, Kelsey used the money that was left to him to buy a house in Ohio, an area he was drawn to in part because his sister lived out there. But it was a difficult time and things didn't work out in Ohio, so he sold the house and moved in to a rental unit back home in Connecticut.

For a while things were fine, but then Kelsey fell and a hernia makes it too painful for him to do most work. Eventually he could no longer afford his rental, so he moved into a nearby barn and then into his car.

It was a painful time for Kelsey and he didn't have much hope. He'd try to stay clean by swimming in Long Pond, a place with water so pure, it felt spiritual, he said.  A community forum sparks help

The thing that kept him going through it all was his dogs. He calls them his little "rascals," and got them shortly after his father died, when they were puppies. They helped him out of his depression at the time — both are nearly 8 years old now, but still have an abundance of puppy-like enthusiasm — and now they're what drives him.

"There is nothing here left in life for me to look forward to except for my two little dogs," Kelsey said. "They keep me going."

"They sense when you're down, then they'll jump on you. They won't leave you alone until you're laughing," he said.

But after a year and a half living out of his car, Kelsey received a boost from something he never even saw: a Facebook post.

Miki Leighton gradually got to know Kelsey and learn about his situation while working as a supervisor with the Ledyard Food Pantry. Oddly enough, the two even had gone to the same high school.

When she heard that Kelsey could no longer park where he had been staying, Leighton reached out to Linda Davis, who runs the Ledyard Community Forum Facebook page. Leighton couldn't find help for Kelsey at some of the more common places because he wasn't veteran, so she wanted to see if they could ask for help on the forum.  

"I was just looking for a safe space for the guy to park and then it snowballed from there," Leighton said. "It was really cool to see the community rally together."

What happened next went well beyond a simple parking space.

Chief Petty Officer Mike Stewart, a Naval Undersea Medical Institute instructor, saw the post and offered to loan his camper to Kelsey and his dogs for the winter. 

Meanwhile, Rich Hines, owner of H&H Landscaping, offered Kelsey a generator, as well as helped him find a place to park and rented him a rental unit to store all of his belongings for the year.

Other residents offered blankets and sleeping bags — so many, in fact, that Kelsey had to politely turn them down.

But perhaps more importantly than the material things, Kelsey began to build relationships with the people who helped him. Kelsey and Hines have hung out a few times, eating meals and playing cards.

"It's good to see him smile and laugh," Hines said. "It gives him that sense of hope and he feels like he belongs."

One, but not the only oneThe first thing Kelsey asked when he sat down to be interviewed by a reporter was, "Why me?"

He asked not because he didn't think his story had value, but rather because he knows his story isn't entirely unique.

"There's a tendency to turn our heads to the situation," Kelsey said. "There's a lot of people in this county that are in the same situation or worse than I am." 

It seems the reality that homelessness exists in New London County hasn't been lost.

Hines said that in response to people seeing Kelsey's story, he's been contacted by someone interested in setting up a fund to help people in need.

"I think this is opening everyone's eyes that this is a need," Hines said.

As for Kelsey, he and his dogs are really enjoying the trailer, especially the space its affords for them to stretch out. But as far as what's next, he's taking things as they come.

He's working out what medical route he wants to go to fix his hernia; he's not fond of the idea of the mesh treatment. 

Kelsey also continues to appreciate the support he's received and the relationships that have developed throughout this experience, praising how a small group of people went out of their way to help when they didn't really have to.

"Just like everybody else, they're busy with their lives, and they're taking time out to try and save somebody," Kelsey said. "The ship's going down ... and it takes a lot of guts and heroics to turn around and pull somebody above water."

c.clark@theday.com