Save Navy Vet Lynette Combs' Home!
Donation protected
Lynette Combs, a 64-year-old partially disabled Navy retiree, has spent the winter in a freezing cold home with no heat, hot water, or working toilet. The tiny house in Norfolk, VA, started falling into the ground due to incompetent repairs done 10 years ago, which cut through several structural supports. [Note: I forgot to mention that, in 2003, Hurricane Isabel caused $21,000 (!!) worth of damages to Lynette's house and property—none of which was covered by insurance—so that's why the original (disastrous) repair had to be made...]
A hidden roof leak also allowed water to enter and rot the home’s back walls.
None of this was known until one day late last year, when Lynette suddenly saw that her toilet and bathtub were starting to fall through her crumbling bathroom floor into the black hole below.
The entire bathroom had to be demolished to fix the collapsing foundation, and the furnace and water heater, which were also sinking through rotted flooring, were taken out and stored. The back of the house has been removed, and the roof needs to be replaced.
With the help of friends, Lynette has paid to start the repairs, but it’s estimated they’ll cost about $30,000 more to finish.
Unfortunately, there’s now no money left to continue—and if the repairs aren’t finished, it's possible the house could be condemned.
During the recent snowstorm, Lynette—with no furnace—had only a space heater and an electric blanket to keep herself and her dogs warm.
That week, the temperature in her house was just 42 degrees! This was her side porch (where the blizzard caused the ceiling to fall in):
And after the bathroom was gutted, she was forced to use a temporary commode-chair all winter.
Update 1/25/17: Reconstruction at Lynette's house is continuing. By Friday night, the furnace had been reinstalled in the newly-rebuilt furnace hut, and HEAT restored; and by Saturday night, there was HOT WATER again! There is still much to do, but this is the first time my sister's house has been warm in months! And last night, for the first time since autumn, a working TOILET was temporarily reinstalled in the bathroom (which is still under construction). Just imagine how you'd live, with no toilet in your house for months.
Progress has been made — but there is still so much to be done! — finishing the bathroom; replacing the rotted-out back wall of the house; siding; and putting on a new roof, to prevent this kind of damage ever reoccurring.
Lynette has only her Navy pension and Social Security to live on. She’s applied for dozens of grants and assistance programs, but for various reasons (there’s no minor in the home; she isn’t in a wheelchair, so she’s not considered “disabled enough”; her area isn’t “rural”), she hasn’t qualified for any so far.
We all know Lynette as a kind, sweet, talented, wonderful person and a devoted pet owner who’s worked her entire life to be independent and has never asked anything for anything. Now she finds herself in a terrible, and desperate, situation. Can we all get together and help her, so she doesn't lose her home?
Note: Donations of roofing, siding, and other building materials will also be happily accepted!
A hidden roof leak also allowed water to enter and rot the home’s back walls.
None of this was known until one day late last year, when Lynette suddenly saw that her toilet and bathtub were starting to fall through her crumbling bathroom floor into the black hole below.
The entire bathroom had to be demolished to fix the collapsing foundation, and the furnace and water heater, which were also sinking through rotted flooring, were taken out and stored. The back of the house has been removed, and the roof needs to be replaced.
With the help of friends, Lynette has paid to start the repairs, but it’s estimated they’ll cost about $30,000 more to finish.
Unfortunately, there’s now no money left to continue—and if the repairs aren’t finished, it's possible the house could be condemned.
During the recent snowstorm, Lynette—with no furnace—had only a space heater and an electric blanket to keep herself and her dogs warm.
That week, the temperature in her house was just 42 degrees! This was her side porch (where the blizzard caused the ceiling to fall in):
And after the bathroom was gutted, she was forced to use a temporary commode-chair all winter.
Update 1/25/17: Reconstruction at Lynette's house is continuing. By Friday night, the furnace had been reinstalled in the newly-rebuilt furnace hut, and HEAT restored; and by Saturday night, there was HOT WATER again! There is still much to do, but this is the first time my sister's house has been warm in months! And last night, for the first time since autumn, a working TOILET was temporarily reinstalled in the bathroom (which is still under construction). Just imagine how you'd live, with no toilet in your house for months.
Progress has been made — but there is still so much to be done! — finishing the bathroom; replacing the rotted-out back wall of the house; siding; and putting on a new roof, to prevent this kind of damage ever reoccurring.
Lynette has only her Navy pension and Social Security to live on. She’s applied for dozens of grants and assistance programs, but for various reasons (there’s no minor in the home; she isn’t in a wheelchair, so she’s not considered “disabled enough”; her area isn’t “rural”), she hasn’t qualified for any so far.
We all know Lynette as a kind, sweet, talented, wonderful person and a devoted pet owner who’s worked her entire life to be independent and has never asked anything for anything. Now she finds herself in a terrible, and desperate, situation. Can we all get together and help her, so she doesn't lose her home?
Note: Donations of roofing, siding, and other building materials will also be happily accepted!
Organizer and beneficiary
Nina Combs
Organizer
Norfolk, VA
Lynette Combs
Beneficiary
