Where can I get a young girl help who's furnace is broke?

[samplegirl]

There is a girl who works at the Dollar General Store here in Ohio and it won't be a very Merry Christmas for her. She and her six year old son have lost the electric furnace due to flooding in her basement.
She owns the home and said she will have to let it go to foreclosure as she can not afford a new furnace. Home owners insurance will not cover it.
I felt so bad for her.........she is a hard working 29yr. old. Somehow I am going to find her some type of help. I did give her some money for groceries this week. Her child support is 70.00 a week which fifty of it goes for childcare. Just would like some advice on how I can help.

[Cal Carpenter]

1. There may be community organizations in your area

that provide cash assistance to people with specific needs like this. Some community centers, churches, low-income clinics, etc do this kind of thing. Even most of the churches aren't too church-y about it..

If there is a United Way in your town/county, they may be a good place to start. A lot of areas have a 211 hotline you can call to get referrals and info about social service organizations (this is one of the few direct services the United Way provides in most areas).

I would start by dialing 211 from a land line or looking up the phone number for your county UW.

[samplegirl]

5. Thanks D.U.ers

For the advice....I will make calls and do my best to try and find her help.

[samplegirl]

9. I call them and they have no available help at this time.

I will keep trying! Thank you so much!

[lpbk2713]

2. Maybe your local IBEW union hall?

You might catch them in a benevolent holiday mood if you explain her situation.

[Oilwellian]

7. The oil-filled, radiating kind are the best

One will heat a fairly large room and they're not too expensive ($40-50). Good luck, elocs.

[Live and Learn]

11. That is what we have been using for the last few years.

They work pretty well. Betting there are a lot of people going without working furnaces these days. Of course, we are in CA so it isn't too hard for us.

[grasswire]

4. some charities would help her

Salvation Army
St Vincent de Paul (Catholic Charities)

If I were you I might be tempted to get in touch with a local church or a local television station or newspaper and tell them the story. Many people have generous hearts this time of year. Especially when a child is involved.

Keep us posted. And bless your caring heart.

[JVS]

6. See if anyone will watch her kids for free so she isn't paying $50/week for it.

[samplegirl]

10. Her mother watches her son

and charges her 50.00 a week!

[OriginalGeek]

14. That seems harsh but kids ain't cheap

Our son won sole custody of his two daughters when he and his wife split up but that came with having to make arrangements for them while he was at work. My wife watched the kids for years until they got older and she charged our son less than half of what day care would have cost just to cover the food they ate. It was a good deal for all of us.

[Sheldon Cooper]

8. There is a HVAC company in Pittsburgh that donates a certain number

of furnaces every year (I think maybe ten) including installation, to needy people. Maybe a company in your town has something similar?

[LeftyMom]

12. Check with your local utility.

If they don't have some sort of assistance program they should at least be able to point her toward who helps with that kind of thing in your area. They may also have a program where she can get her unit replaced by an approved contractor and then make payments, if that's an option she can manage.

[ohheckyeah]

13. Have you ever heard of

GoFundMe? A Facebook work group I belong to just raised $1,000 for a young woman whose apartment burned down and she had no renters insurance. We raised it in about a week.

http://www.gofundme.com/

You need to network to get donations.

[Warpy]

15. She might not need a new furnace

What she probably needs is the electric igniter for either gas or oil. Replacing it won't break the bank if she goes on Wishadoo or finds an HVAC company with a compassion policy that would allow a long payback period. I won't suggest state help, Ohio has been cursed with a Koch owned dictator, er, governor.

[Mopar151]

20. I can sometimes fix this sort of thing

Whether I can help or not, the first thing to do is identify the paitent.

[samplegirl]

16. Thank you for all the suggestions

D.U. has never failed to help others. I guess that is why I have remained a member for so long.

[firsttimer]

18. Has she had someone come out to look at yet?

The place she buys her oil from should have a tech that
will run a couple of tests to see what's wrong .

Unless this furnace cracked it shouldn't be that expensive to replace a few electrical parts.

Did she come to the conclusion by her self she needs a new one ?