"Austin's House"

The picture below shows Austin and his family in front of their home. Austin lives here with his mother, sisters and foster children that his mom is taking care of.

Within the past couple of years, the house began shifting because it did not have a strong enough foundation. With no money for repairs or to move, the family began trying to fix the house the best they could. Austin, the man of the house at 14 years old, began digging out under the foundation with hopes that they could stack cinder blocks to support the main beams.

Due to the shifting, there is no longer running water and alternative means for a little heat had to be used. As you can imagine, the home does not stay very warm with this gaping hole under the foundation.

When HFtFN members found out about this, we began trying to help. A few contractors felt the house was not worth saving and would even consider the job, but we knew our God is bigger than that. We made Austin promise he would not go under the foundation again, and started developing plans to fix the problems as soon as possible.

This summer, our work crew team was able to build a new supporting wall under the foundation, dig out and replace the broken well pump, and repair many busted water lines in order to provide running water in the house for the first time in over a year. Yay, God! Needless to say, all family members are thrilled to be able to take a shower in their own home, wash dishes without carrying them somewhere in a bucket and flush a toilet! All things we take for granted on a daily basis.

Please consider how you might help with other needed projects on the reservation! If you would like to donate money specifically for this goal, please contact Lynn at (217) 793-0707 or donate securely using by clicking on the button below.