I never thought I’d be in a place like this — asking strangers for help. I started my roofing business in 2017 with nothing but hope, determination, and the dream of building a better life for my wife and our three kids. For a while, things were going well. We had steady work and were making it.
But in 2019, I took on a few large commercial projects — jobs I wasn’t fully prepared for but believed I could handle. I trusted the wrong subcontractors, and a couple of those jobs went sideways fast. I did everything I could to make it right, even filed an insurance claim to cover damage and made sure the customer was taken care of.
In the end, I finished the work, but I never got paid what was owed. I was shorted over $160,000. I took out a $100,000 loan just to stay afloat — a loan my dad co-signed for, believing in me. After the business collapsed, I couldn’t repay it as planned.
Now, bankruptcy isn’t even an option, and I’ve been making huge monthly payments just to keep up — while my family and I live with my parents, trying to rebuild from rock bottom.
It’s been five years of scraping by. One emergency can set us back months. I’m not looking for a handout but at the point were it would be fair to my kids not to try — I’m just asking for a little help to breathe again, to lift this weight, and to give my family the fresh start they deserve.
Even the smallest support means more than you know. Thank you for reading, and thank you for caring.