Help Jewel get back on her feet

TL, DR version: As many of you now know, our mum Jewel recently lost her shed and all its contents due to a fire on her property.

This has caused her incredible grief and stress, and we’d like to help ease her suffering in whatever way we can. She can ill afford the insurance excess and mortgage repayments right now, let alone the increased insurance premium ongoing. We know everyone is suffering financially right now, but if you can spare even $5 it would go a long way in showing Mum that others care.

Longer Version:

Our mum is one who will help anyone and everyone, and has done multiple times over the years. She’d literally give you her last dollar, or last morsel of food.

She’s been dealt blow after blow throughout her life, and never asked for anything. (In fact, she’ll likely be annoyed with us for even asking for some support as she’s too proud to accept help).

Now it’s our turn to show her she is worthy of a little support too.

We’re all aware of the crippling rental crisis that has affected our country for the past couple of years, leaving many with no place to go. Because of this, when a friend asked if a destitute woman could park her caravan temporarily on mums property as she had nowhere to go, mum readily agreed.

Fast forward to September 25 of this year.

Mum was about to head off to the beach with her dog Clancy, when *Sharon said she’d mow the lawn and asked mum to start the mower for her. Mum did so, then set off for the beach.

About an hour later, mum receives a text from *Sharon, with the words “fire here”, accompanied by two photos of firefighters battling the fire which had now engulfed the shed.

Mum called me in a panic, and we all raced out to the property. Nothing could have prepared us for what we saw. Fire crews everywhere, hosing down the 4 bay garage, which was now a twisted and buckled pile of metal. All the tools and equipment and personal belongings inside were reduced to nothing but wet ash and rubble.

Mum lives on bush land, and we’re extremely grateful that the firefighters were able to extinguish the surrounding trees which had caught fire, before it spread to the nearby house.

The cause of the fire? For reasons known only to her, apparently at some point, *Sharon had decided to leave the mower and return to her caravan, where she locked her dog inside, and decided to cook eggs. She then returned to the mowing, leaving the dog, and the cooking eggs unattended. Whether the eggs have burned dry, or the dog has knocked something over, we will never know, but sadly the caravan was an inferno before anyone noticed the fire and the dog could not be saved. The caravan was parked close to the shed, and the heat of the burning caravan has caused the items in the shed to ignite.

The shed was being used to house all the usual things - lawn equipment, tools and such, antique furniture, and sentimental belongings that just wouldn’t fit in Mum’s small house. Unfortunately it was also being used to house her daughter Sarah’s belongings, which had been stored there during the time she was homeless. Birth certificates, baby photos, cherished items, personal effects belonging to our deceased father and grandfathers. Things that can never be replaced.

*Sharon’s insurance is claiming they have no obligation to cover any of mum’s damages, leaving Mum to claim through her own insurance. Unfortunately this is an expense mum will struggle to cover, especially since she’s had to take time off work to deal with the aftermath of the fire. This also means her insurance premium will increase, even though the only thing she did wrong was to offer shelter to someone who claimed to be in need.

Financially, mum has been struggling for years. A huge increase in her mortgage due to a relationship breakdown (read: her ‘partner’ went and married someone else before ending their relationship - then demanded she buy him out of the property - despite the fact the deposit came from the sale of a property mum had owned well before she even met him).

Then mandated out of an industry she’d worked in for decades, leaving her to now scrub toilets to barely make ends meet. At 68 years of age, she should not be running herself ragged simply to just exist.

To say she’s feeling down and out, hopeless and despondent, would be an understatement.

She’s at a very real risk of losing her home now, due to the added financial pressure the fire has placed on her, not to mention the mental and emotional trauma.

We know times are so incredibly tough for everyone right now but we humbly ask if you could spare even $5 to help raise her spirits and give her a small amount of financial relief right now it would mean the world. Jewel is the first person to offer to help….now it’s her turn.

*name changed to protect privacy.