Foster Mom's Home Needs Urgent Repairs

I’m a mom of nine amazing children—foster, biological, step and adopted. My blended family is my everything and the foundation of my life. I’ve always been strong and independent, rarely asking for help as I am usually the one giving. Growing up in foster care and aging out at 18, I know what it’s like to not have a place to call home. That’s why I’ve spent the last 11 years fostering children, providing a safe, loving environment for them to heal and grow. Two of those children now have a forever home with us.

Without extended family due to my own childhood circumstances, I’ve built a family of love and strength. But life hasn’t been easy. I’ve undergone several brain surgeries and continue to deal with ongoing health issues. Despite everything, I’ve done my best to keep our home a place of warmth, love, and safety.

Over the past few years, our home has needed significant repairs: replacing all the water lines, repairing the outside well line, pressure tank several times, water damage restoration and replacing coils on our geothermal unit.

A few friends suggested starting a GoFundMe, and while I’ve never been one to ask for help, I’m now out of options. My health and medical expenses have already stretched us thin, and I simply don’t have the resources to fix this on my own.

We’re self-employed and pay our bills on time, but a series of major home repairs in the past few months have drained all of our financial flexibility. We replaced the pressure tank last month, only for the well pump and casing to fail weeks later. We’ve replaced the well and pump and are making payments on the remaining balance. But now, we’ve been told the geothermal unit—which provides both heating and cooling—needs to be replaced, as it contributed to the well’s failure.

Right now, we have emergency heat, but it’s only a temporary solution. I’m doing everything I can to find a way forward for my family.

Clearwater holds a special place in my heart. It’s where I attended elementary school in Mrs. Whitaker’s class and returned for a brief time in high school. Although I moved often in foster care, Clearwater gave me a sense of belonging I never knew before. That’s why I chose this town for my kids—to give them a home and community where they’d feel accepted and supported.

I’m deeply sorry for sharing so much, but I feel I have no other option but to ask for help. This is hard for me, but I can’t give up—I won’t give up—for my family. Thank you for taking the time to listen and for any support you can give. It truly means the world to us.

With love and gratitude,

A mom fighting for her family