I am a 35-year-old mama and sole carer to four young children. I am fiercely independent and find it incredibly difficult to ask for help of any kind, usually being the rock for everyone in my life to lean on for strength and support, but as a mother, I know I need to put my babies needs first, so I’m here today, swallowing my pride for the sake of my family, to seek assistance from any kind and generous souls willing to extend us a helping hand in our time of need.
We purchased our little family home 10 years ago, a small home built in the 1960s and immaculately maintained by a single owner. It’s not perfect, but it’s what we could afford and has served us very well. So many memories have been made within these walls; we’ve been through good times and bad, welcomed new life into the world, tragically lost and said goodbye to beloved family that we miss dearly, buried our beautiful dog of 14 years in our yard, experienced a worldwide pandemic, home-schooled my children, celebrated special occasions, birthdays, Christmas, reached milestones, survived an emergency illness where I too nearly lost my life to sepsis that’s left me still struggling with ongoing complications almost two years later, and so many more. I have raised my children here in a place where they feel safe to grow and thrive in the only home they have ever known.
On September 22, 2021, a magnitude 6.0 earthquake was felt across the city of Melbourne, with the epicentre located approx. 134 km from our home, causing damage to the exterior wall of our property where a crack developed, in addition to other things as a result of the tremor. When I returned home from the hospital to discover the damage, I contacted our insurance company to arrange an inspection; however, after an investigation conducted by their engineer, they denied our claim. The engineers report stated that the intensity of the force experienced at our property “was greater than 4 but less than 5 (4.8 MM)” and went into great detail, outlining that our property is not constructed to modern standards that would even withstand differential land movement and regular property settlement, but concluded with cosmetic issues only, citing no proof of damage.
Fast forward to May 28, 2023, when a magnitude 4.0 earthquake hit directly beneath our home town, originating just 3km below the surface. My family was shaken awake at 11.40 p.m. by violent rumbling and roaring sounds that lasted about 1 minute, followed by a loud bang and intense movement that only exacerbated the damage from the previous tremor. The crack in the exterior wall of our property has broken bricks in half from the floor to the roof and has separated enough to stick my hand through the opening with a new crack forming on the front side, in addition to a horizontal crack straight through the concrete slab and our exterior roof sagging significantly. Once again, I have contacted our insurance company, who have confirmed the force of the most recent earthquake was felt at an intensity of 5.0 MM at the epicentre but have refused to even submit a claim, stating their reason as “the damage is pre-existing”.
I am concerned for my family’s safety but am struggling to find a solution to our current situation. I know our home needs costly repairs to the roof, exterior walls, and concrete slab, and I’ve explored all other options to no avail, leaving me terrified disaster could strike at any moment. I can’t sell the house as is (and don’t really want to), we don’t have anywhere else to go while I search for an alternative way to fund the damages, I can’t afford to move us into a rental even temporarily while keeping up the mortgage payments (and probably couldn’t secure one anyway with the current property shortages), I can’t access any equity after losing my job due to health complications, I have a small amount of savings but nowhere near enough, and my insurance has been anything but helpful.
This has been a long read, and if you’ve made it this far, thank you; it means more than you could possibly imagine. I know this is a lot to ask, and I wouldn’t be here pleading for help if I could find any other way to keep my babies safe and keep our family home intact. I’m praying for some kind of miracle and desperately seeking any assistance or contribution, large or small, to put towards repairs. Thank you for your consideration.
paypal.me/saveourlittlehome