Family Homeless after Burst Pipe Freezes Home

Money Raised will:

We have no insurance on the house or property.

What do you get when you cross -40 degree windchill, an old house with old pipes, and a broken window?

A homeless family on Christmas morning.

Thursday night (12/23) my family decided to stay at our Grandma's house to beat the cold. Our old house has terrible insulation and finicky heating (it's either too hot or too cold, but with negative 40-degree windchill, it's only too cold).

My dad left Friday morning to go back to the house. I went home around noon so I could take some client calls.

"Either I'm cold, or it's colder in here than normal."

Dad knew why. "A window fell out last night."

That explained why I could see my breath when I walked up the stairs.

Dad patched the window with old ceiling tiles and a plastic sheet. Which helped... but only a little.

Another night at Grandma's to beat the cold.

Saturday morning, Christmas Eve, I take my mom and sister out for coffee, to get a Christmas roast, and then a pit stop at home so I could grab some stuff.

"Why do you need to go home?" My sister asked.

"To get some stuff." But not important stuff. Stuff I could go without.

I just felt like I needed to go to the house.

We walk up to the door and Mom points out that the window was frozen over. I thought nothing of it. It wasn't abnormal for our house to be cold.

I head into my room to grab my stuff and I look over into the laundry room. The floor was shiny. I thought maybe my eyes hadn't adjusted to the low light inside.

I walk into the room to investigate. The floor didn't feel wet. I thought maybe some water spilled and it froze over. I wasn't far off.

Then I heard a waterfall. And it got louder the further into the room I walked. It sounded like it was coming from behind the washing machine.

But I didn't see any water. Nothing was wet. I could still hear the water gushing out of somewhere. But I didn't know where.

That's when... Mom screamed. "Oh, Jesus!"

I ran downstairs. My sister is panicked. Mom was in the living room. I walk into the room and hear the waterfall right next to me.

Then I look up...

And the ceiling was raining. There was water everywhere with a puddle 3 inches deep in the family room.

TV, electronics, cords, Christmas tree, shelves, coaches, carpet, blankets, pillows, all ruined.

There's no telling how long the pipes had been burst. But long enough for it to drip down into the basement and infiltrate and freeze over the furnace. Water was everywhere.

Not like the basement was in good condition. Before we moved into the house, the homeowner had to gut it because of the black mold. It was everywhere. The basement was unlivable. And we lived right on top of it.

After 20 minutes of a panicked frenzy, I managed to figure out how to shut off the water. Soon, the indoor downpour stopped. But even 6 hours later when I went back to grab some stuff, the ceiling still dripped.

My family has needed to move for quite a while now. But we never expected the extreme weather to force us out.

As far as any of us are concerned, the house is unlivable.

Not like any of us want to go back...

I am raising money because my family has no money to fix the mess, let alone get a new house. Which we now need.

We are a family of 6. Dad, Mom, myself, my brother, and two sisters.

Our options are these:

1. Return to our frozen wasteland that was once our house

2. Raise money and buy a house suitable for our needs

But in this economy, we're more inclined to rent a house. Not like we could buy a house unless we raised enough money for a down payment.

Regardless of what we do, or where we go, not having a livable house to ourselves isn't a fun way to spend Christmas.

Please, consider donating to help us find a new place to live. Something that's big enough for all of us. Someplace better than our old, cold house.

Thank you for your prayers.