49 Year Old Disabled Divorcee Seeks Grant Money Or Help For Home Repairs

by Pam
(Port Angeles, WA USA)

I am a 49 year old, divorced, disabled woman with two grown children who live in different cities than me. I have 4 grandchildren I wish I could see more often.

I worked in the public and private sector for 20 years before I was in an accident and became disabled.

I was in a terrible car accident, which injured my back and neck. My injuries cause my hands to often times not work.

I also have Rheumatoid Arthritis, terrible migraine headaches, and recently injured my shoulder (of my dominant hand) and had major surgery, which is not healing as well as it should.

I am currently receiving Social Security Disability. Although I take medication to stave off the Rheumatoid Arthritis, it is advancing rapidly.

I currently live in a small (790 square foot), one-bedroom home that is in desperate need of repairs.

The house was built in 1932 and has the original water pipes, which are now corroded with rust and some completely blocked.

I must do my dishes in the bathroom sink and all other water faucets including the washer and shower are little more than a trickle of water.

The pipes under the house and going to and from the street need to be replaced.

My local city is only responsible for the pipes at the street not going to and from my house.

I paid local repairmen everything I had in savings to replace the falling down deck in back of my house, install French doors so I can access my house with my scooter and fence my yard but they ran off with the money and I am left with all the materials but no way to complete the projects.

I cannot go out my back door because there is a 3-foot drop. There are some relatively minor repairs such as installing a new stovepipe on my woodstove, which is my only source of heat.

I have the pipe but no way to install it. The tile ceiling in the bedroom has tiles that have come off so it needs to be repaired.

At present, I have to park my van at the very back of my property and walk on uneven ground with canes to the very front of my property and climb stairs to get in the front door because the workers were supposed to build a ramp along with the deck.

I receive a Social Security disability fixed payment every month. I receive a very small amount in food stamps.

Although I have looked and will continue to look for work I can do, in this economy, there are no jobs.

I have had no luck at all finding funding, volunteers, grants or donations of any kind to help.

I am looking for a grant to pay to have the repairs done on my home. I would also love to have volunteers who could come over do it.