Jessica Gibson Mortgage Grant Recipient April 2008
Jessica lost her husband, Corporal Christopher Gibson, USMC, in Iraq in 2004. After he died, she moved her 7 year-old daughter, her 4-year-old son, and herself back to her home in Ventura County to live with her mother. Five months later she bought a manufactured home in Canyon Country. She paid $236,000, but was only in the home for 6 months when she walked into the children’s bathroom and fell through the floor.
It turns out that there had been a small leak in the plumbing that was slowly undermining the structure. She had 2 homeowner insurance policies, along with the homeowner guarantee from the purchase at the time that she discovered the leak. It seems, however, that all policies had exclusions for “slow leaks” and all have cancelled their coverage, refusing to pay a dime to help. She spent thousands of dollars fixing the plumbing before even more of the floor collapsed and she ran out of money. In addition, as a result of all the moisture, the floors and walls have now become infused with mold, and the house has become uninhabitable. FallenWarriors obtained bids for the repair of the home and found that the cost would be close to $150,000!
FallenWarriors had to sadly tell Jessica that we didn’t feel that it was cost effective to repair the house. She had nowhere else to turn, and has subsequently seen her dream-home be repossessed by the bank.
While this was going on, and Jessica was mourning the loss of her husband, and trying to take care of their 2 children, she found that she had to take care of her
mother as well. Her mother, a Ventura County resident, became disabled and could no longer pay her own mortgage or living and medical expenses. So Jessica took over those payments as well. Now, add to this the fact that Jessica’s ability to obtain employment is also handicapped because she was born with only one arm, and you can see that this was a woman we wanted to help.
All of the life insurance that she received from the military has been used. She is forced to live solely on her husband’s death benefits. Her mother has now moved out of her home, which she can no longer afford. Jessica has moved in and taken over the payments and expenses while trying to maintain a warm and loving home for her growing children.
FallenWarriors has now stepped in to help. We have committed to paying the mortgage payments for the next 2 years—roughly a $50,000 gift—thus giving Jessica time to rebuild her life again. The families of our bravest young people need help and we thank those of you that have helped us help them when we find the need. God bless each and every one of you that contribute.
