This is the story of my friend, Laura Jones. The past several years have been very hard for her. Eight years ago Laura rescued her mother Margaret from a shelter in eastern North Carolina. She brought Margaret, who was bedridden and suffering from dementia, to live with her in Mill Springs, NC. Laura worked several part-time jobs to make ends meet, all the while caring for her mom (she was my cleaning lady, then took charge of managing my Airbnb bookings). She had the added expenses of fees to establish a legal guardianship and adapting her home to accommodate her mother. A year ago, Laura moved with Margaret to Waynesville in order to be closer to family. Now a full-time caregiver, Laura was unable to work outside their home and understandably accumulated significant debt. This September Margaret died, leaving Laura to start over.

Laura is no deadbeat. She's a hard worker and a self-starter and a good person (she has already started her own cleaning business). Laura could just use a little help digging herself out of a financial hole created by her devotion to her mother. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.