Naomi heard a faint dripping sound inside her house and traced its origin to the roof. It was frustrating but she didn’t have time to dwell on it— she was a single mom with lots of difficult situations to juggle and the minor dripping only made her busy life more complex. 

Seasons passed. Before she knew it, the wet spots around the house had multiplied in mysterious ways. She dreaded the rain and the snow, prayed for sunny days and bright, clear skies. The situation got so bad that some rooms became unusable. All she could do was pour love into her children and empty the rainwater buckets as each became full. Ten years passed in such a way with no hope for a better tomorrow.

When we heard Naomi’s story though the advocacy of her neighbors, we knew we wanted to help. With a housing situation as complex as hers, we knew we couldn’t do it on our own. In a stunning act of kindness, and thanks in part to a Community Development Block Grant from the City of Fort Wayne, nearly 70 of Naomi’s neighbors responded in her complicated time of need to provide a brand new roof for the self-sacrificing mother of five. Not only did they raise $7500 for her complex project, but they raised it in less than nine hours, without warning, on a random Friday in July. This project was over $12,000 in total cost. 

Without their partnership, a transformational act of kindness like this would be impossible to navigate on our own. With the continued support of donors like you, NeighborLink will be able to step into many more complex situations just like this and make significant, long-lasting change for neighbors that we care about.

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