When Samantha came to us for assistance in October, she had recently left her husband within the year due to a domestic abuse situation. She was now a single mother, raising four children on her own. Samantha worked full time as a registered home health nurse and received a small amount of child support each month. She and her children moved into a new residence that she was purchasing on a land contract. After becoming settled and living in the home for about six months, her septic system malfunctioned.

It soon became evident that Samantha was in need of a new septic system. The system she had was a dry well that was continually backing up into her yard. She had no other choice but to replace the system. After some searching, Samantha was able to find a contractor that would allow her to make payments on the new septic system and installation that came $5,000.00, as long as she provided a $2,000.00 down payment. Samantha worked extra hours for a few months in order to save up the $2,000.00. Once the money was saved and the new septic system could be installed, she then needed to pay the health department $425.00 to inspect her property, before and after the septic system was replaced, and also draw up the plans for the design of the new system. Samantha just did not have the extra money to pay the health department so she contacted us for assistance.

After reviewing her income, expenses, and facilitating a meeting between her and a budget counselor, we decided to help Samantha. Because splitting the cost of Samantha’s request would ease the weight on each agency, we asked Samantha to contact the Open Door Mission to see if they could provide half of the $425.00 needed. After the interview process, we and the Open Door Mission split the $425.00, each paying $212.50 directly to the health department. Within a month, Samantha was able to have her septic system replaced with a new one.