Single mom Kendra and her 11-year-old son had been without a kitchen sink for almost a year. The stress of not having something so basic had worn them down.
“My kitchen sink and dishwasher had been torn up since November of last year when a water leak caused my cabinets to fill with mold. We’d been washing our dishes in the bathroom sink and eating off of paper plates. The insurance company had given me money to repair it, but the money was stolen by the contractor I hired to fix it,” said Kendra.
Kendra purchased her Gwinnett county home in 2006 and got married in 2014. Unfortunately, Kendra had no idea her now ex-husband had a drug addiction. “It took a toll on me and my son – we had a lot of traumatic things happen,” she said.
When the couple divorced four years later, Kendra found herself in a hard place financially.
“There are a lot of stresses as a single mom living paycheck-to-paycheck. Staying in my home was a struggle, and I certainly wasn’t able to have any home repairs done, even though they were greatly needed,” she said.
“When the water problem happened, I didn’t have the money to fix it. I just felt defeated in a lot of ways.”
Luckily, Kendra heard about Home Repairs from a friend and got in touch.
“They responded to my email quickly and came over to assess what they could do. A couple of weeks later, they called to say they’d raised the funds [thanks to Lowe’s and the ReFrame Foundation for making this project possible] and could come and put my kitchen back together with a new sink and dishwasher,” Kendra said.
“We scheduled a time and day, and within two weeks, I had my kitchen back.”
Not only did she have her kitchen repaired fairly quickly, she also enjoyed the entire experience.
“It wasn’t stressful at all; I was actually happy to have them there. The gentlemen were so nice, knowledgeable and respectful,” she said.
“They laughed and talked with me, and even though they were volunteers, they provided quality, professional work – I loved all of them.”
For Kendra and her son, getting a new kitchen sink was a lifeline.
“It was just so hard to be without for so long,” Kendra said. “People don’t really think about how hard it would be to not have a kitchen sink. You don’t think about it in your everyday life until it happens to you and you realize how hard it is, and how impactful it can be to have it fixed.
“Even if you’ve been through some sort of tragedy, don’t be scared to ask for help. For a long time, I was embarrassed. But there are people that can help you and make that difference in your life, so don’t be afraid to ask.”
Not only can Kendra now have a home-cooked meal, she’s also regained some hope since getting the help she needed.
“When Home Repairs put my kitchen back together, it lifted a lot off of me; we couldn’t even cook in our own kitchen before,” she said. “Having them come in and help has given both me and my son a better outlook on life.
“After nearly a year being without, we’re just really grateful to them. I appreciate Mark and his team for their work and Lowes for the donation. They were such a blessing, to step in and get it done so quickly.
“[My experience with Home Repairs] reinforces that there are good people in the world. They changed mine and my son’s lives.”
