Help Grandma Judy Fix Her Fire-Damaged House

What happened?

Grandma Judy lives just south of downtown Des Moines. She’s 81. This house was her mom’s house. It’s the house I spent most of my childhood weekends at hanging out with Grandma Judy, doing crafts, painting, ceramics, and learning to use a sewing machine.

On Monday, February 8th, a fire broke out in the upstairs bedroom. It spread and tore apart the room and torched the hallway. The fire was put out and no one was physically harmed.



So now, on this snowy day, there’s a hole in Grandma Judy’s home. She was subsisting off of her social security check and Medicaid and does not have home insurance. She cannot afford the repairs, let alone covering temporary housing costs in the meantime. That’s where I’m hoping you come in.


What is needed?

Temporary housing costs: Grandma Judy, and Uncle Floyd who lives with her, need a place to stay. Right now they are at a cheap hotel. I wish I didn’t live in a one-bedroom apartment, otherwise, I’d open my doors.
Fixing the fire damage to her house: It was bad enough that they couldn’t stay in the house. Uncle Floyd sent me one picture, but I’m going over there later today to take more photos. I have a broad estimate from homeadvisor.com (between about 6k to 12k), but I will update you all with the actual numbers as soon as I have them.

Update on the numbers: After having a few people look at the house, it's looking more like a 20k project. There's more damage and work to be done than previously thought.

Other ways you can help?

If you know anyone in the Des Moines, IA, area that specializes in fire damage repair, and would help on a low budget, please send them my way.

If you have any other resources my grandma could connect with during this kind of emergency, please send them my way.

And of course, you can help by sharing this GoFundMe.


How soon does Grandma Judy need the funds?

I’m hoping to have the money to cover the repair costs within the week (is that too optimistic?), but anything helps in the meantime to cover their current temporary living expenses.

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Thank you all for reading this. With your help, we can get Grandma Judy back into her own home.