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LITTLETON, Colo -- Every time Michelle McNamara checks the weather she worries, especially with more snow in the forecast. Her roof is leaking, causing her ceiling to sag in several places. McNamara can no longer sleep in her bedroom because there's so much damage to the ceiling she fears it will cave in.
"The tiles start bubbling cause they fill up with water and so that’s how we’ve really noticed it and now it’s going all different directions," said McNamara.
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McNamara has suffered three critical strokes and is currently on oxygen. When she could no longer work, she used her pension to buy her home. She believes she has spent at least $1,700 trying to fix the roof but it's still leaking and she's out of money.
"It takes everything I have just to live," said McNamara.
Some generous people have already stepped up to help her but they don't have the resources to complete the entire roofing project.
"We’re doing what we can to help her, to find some resources to repair her roof properly," said Bear Deardorff with Love Bears All. "If it continues to leak, the ceiling, I’m concerned currently about the ceiling and the mold issue that is really the main priority right now.”
A nonprofit called Love Bears All has found a contractor who is willing to donate labor in order to replace the roof. Deardorff says he is also donating money for roofing supplies but he doesn't have the expertise or funding to deal with any mold issues that may exist.
"She cannot sleep in her own bedroom, she cannot use certain parts of the house and so we’re really trying to help her so she can get to a place where she’s comfortable and her health is not in danger," said Deardorff.
As McNamara watches her ceiling sag and crumble, she is hoping her roof will be fixed before the next snowstorm.
"I don’t want to have to stress out about it anymore," said McNamara.
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