Some flooding victims turning to GoFundMe to help pay for repairs
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Some people lost nearly everything they owned in this week's floods in the Chicago area, so now they're turning to a new source for help with repairs – setting up GoFundMe pages.
CBS 2's Marybel Gonzalez has one woman's loss and her plea for help.
For Kathryn Taylor, of North Lawndale, life changed just as quickly as the rain fell during this week's storms.
"I just feel like one day everything was … everything was fine," she said, choking back tears. "And then the next day we just lost everything we had."
She's one of hundreds of Chicagoans affected by this week's storms. Sewer water seeped into her garden apartment, and completely flooded it.
"The walls, the sink, the bathtub, the toilet; it was coming out whichever way it could come through," she said.
TVs, furniture, clothes; all destroyed by the dirty water. Memories washed away.
"My children's certificates from when they were in grade school, their report cards," Taylor said. "I can't get any of that back. I've been saving it for 20 years, and it's basically gone."
Everyone, including her 3-year-old granddaughter, was left without a bed or the basic necessities.
"We need a place for her to sleep that's safe, that's clean, that has furniture. She needs a bed," she said.
Fans are now blowing all day long to try to dry up the moisture in the apartment, but Taylor said she fears that's not enough.
"My concern is, with all the flooding that is in here, I'm worried about mold," she said. "That's a health hazard."
She's now calling on the city to help, and with no where left to go, she's joining the countless others turning to the public for help through GoFundMe.
"I do live paycheck to paycheck, so it's going to be a slow process for me," she said. "Anything would be great; small, large, I don't care what it is. If you're willing to lend a helping hand, not to me but to anyone else who has gone through this, that would be wonderful."
"I'm trying to get everything back together for my family," she added.
