I guess let me open with I hate asking for help. Especially financial help. But alas, here I am, needing help.

The short story is a leak was found in my sewer system and my foundation in that area is sinking. The foundation repair is about $7K. My insurance will pay a maximum of $5K towards the sewer line repair, after I've met a rather large deductible, and they will only consider costs for accessing the lines going straight through the slab and covering those holes back up. The labor & materials for replacing the damaged lines will fall on my shoulders and will not be taken into consideration for the deductible. So there is a good chance the majority of the sewer line repair will fall on my shoulders, which could be upwards of $10K, possibly more.

How was this leak even found, you ask? Excellent question. The back left corner of my house was sinking, almost 2 inches, which led to loads of cracks everywhere, both inside and outside. Thankfully, my mom, stepfather, and aunt helped with this repair, about $9K. The last step is a hydrostatic test, which you must pass to have the warranty issued. I failed; well, actually, my sewer lines failed. No leaks were found with the camera, so on to line segmentation, which found the leak to be in one of the lines in the master bath. How long has that leak been there? No idea. How does anyone know if your sewer lines are leaking if that water is all contained in the dirt under your house? To get the warranty for the first round of foundation work, I must fix the sewer line leak, but before I can do that, I must lift the front corner of the house, as it's also sinking. And all of this must be done rather quickly as the clock is ticking for the warranty for the first lift.

The "I hate asking for help" part of me feels I must explain myself. Justify why I need help. I'll get right to it and leave out all the messy details. I am a single mom of three boys. I work full time. I do not go on vacation, do not eat out, do not go shopping; I do not spend frivolously, I guess is my point. I get by, but monthly, my reserves are dwindled down to almost nothing. My oldest is in college. I try to help as much as possible, but even that is getting to be almost impossible. My middle is a senior, possibly starting with ACC (it's free right now if you live in their taxing district, yay) while he figures out what he wants to be when he grows up. My youngest is in middle school. Financially, I have, for the most part, fully supported my children. Child support is hit or miss, mostly a miss (this year is the first of 11 that a payment has been made monthly). The amount of arrears could easily pay off 100% of my debt. I paid in full for a car for both of the older boys. I paid for AAU Basketball for my middle as his dream was to play at the next level (sadly, that dream seems to be no longer). I paid for years of scouts and all the campouts and summer camp. I think it's also important to add to this piece that I try to take care of home repairs as much as possible on my own... ceiling fan, dishwasher, disposal, dryer, washing machine, water softener... if I can watch a YouTube how-to, I can do it.

If you are able to help me, thank you. Please note, if I personally know you, I will be fully embarrassed the next time I see you. If you are not able to help, can you please share this with your friends and those friends share with your friends? Social media is a powerful tool and I'm hopeful there are enough people that are in a much better financial situation than me and are willing to help.

My venmo is @jessicaquadlander if that method is preferred.