Dear family and friends,
Today I reach out to you all on behalf of my dearest, most wonderful friends, the Mericas. Morgan, Zack, and their sweet daughter Navie, went to bed last week, and then woke up to a nightmare.
What started off as routine home maintenence, set off a string of events that ended in the discovery of their home being completely overtaken in toxic black mold.
Unknown to them, their family home, which they purchased themselves in 2019 and subsequently brought their miracle baby home too, has slowly been making them more and more sick.
Morgan, has been dealing with significant and unexplained health issues for over a year. They have been to countless specialists, none of whom have been able to give a diagnosis or rationale. The past few months these symptoms continued to escalate and lead to many hospital stays and time away from their daughter.
A few weeks ago, they discovered a minor leak in their roof. Zack (who works for a nonprofit building houses for those in need) went up on the roof to investigate, and that's when everything began falling apart.
Not only was there a leaking roof, but there was significant structural damage, and mold, caused by water that was previously hidden during all prior inspections.
Zack immediately called their insurance, and over the course of the next few days and multiple inspections (including insurance and mold experts), it was found that their home is filled with toxic mold, and 50% (possibly more, as demolition begins Tuesday) is going to need to be completely gutted and rebuilt from the ground up. Due to much of the damage being “pre-existing”, and then subsequently hidden, a large majority of the financial burden to renovate their home is resting on their shoulders alone.
As of now, their house has been deemed completely unlivable. The amount of toxic mold has not only likely been the cause of Morgan's health issues, but has also made practically all of their possessions unsafe to keep. Outside of a couple clothings items the mold expert can attempt to treat, and a few hard goods that can be wiped down.. they are having to completely start over from scratch. Any upholstered furniture, shoes, mattresses, food, hygiene products, books, photos, important paperwork; it's all contaminated with toxic mold spores and will need to be replaced.
Insurance has agreed to pay for the remodeling in their bathroom, but the remaining remodeling (roughly 7 rooms, basement, and entire roof gut), is entirely on their shoulders to cover. This doesn't even begin to cover their possessions, or the cost of finding replacement housing while theirs is remediated and rebuilt. As if that wasn’t enough, they are facing many medical bills due to Morgan’s ongoing illness, and legal costs to get this all squared away.
I'm reaching out, to ask for our community to rise up and help this family that has always been there all of us. Let's show them what community means, and be the village they can depend on through these hard times. Anything you can donate, big or small, is forever appreciated and will go directly to their fund to keep a safe roof over their head, and keep any sense of normalcy they can while navigating the process of rebuilding their lives.
