Neighbor crowd funding assists West Homewood resident with sewage issue

A West Homewood resident’s sewage issues have been cleared thanks to a community effort.

The elderly resident* had sewage line repairs done on her Oak Grove home several times, but the problems persisted and caused neighbors to and complain to Jefferson County Department of Health. As a result, the homeowner received a letter from the health department that asked her to fix the issues or else she would be evicted.

When word got out about the issue, Ward 2 City Council Member Fred Hawkins and Jim Wyatt, head of the city’s Engineering, Planning and Zoning department, began to help the resident connect with churches and neighbors for assistance with funding to resolve the issue.

On Sunday, May 3, Hawkins posted on neighborhood Facebook pages asking for neighbors to get involved, and West Homewood resident Erik Henninger offered to set up a Go Fund Me page. Within seven hours, the fundraising goal of $600 had been surpassed. Altogether, $1,100 was raised through Go Fund Me in less than a 24 hours.

“Tonight, I am very proud to be from West Homewood,” Henninger wrote on the Go Fund Me page Sunday night.

Most of the donations came from individuals and ranged from $10-$100. The West Homewood Lions Club gave $250, and Trinity United Methodist Church gave $500 in addition to the Go Fund Me support raised.

On Monday, May 4, work began to pump sewage out from under the crawl space under the house. Hawkins estimated the project would take a couple of days to complete.

Hawkins said he hopes they have enough money leftover to landscape the yard to benefit both the resident and her neighbors.

*Editor’s note: The resident asked that her name not be used in this article.