Andrew Casillon and his mother, Carmen, had a different challenge. Their mobile home’s water heater went out, and they had no reserves to pay the needed $1,500 to replace it. For two months, they searched for a solution, but there seemed to be no clear way to solve the problem.
Carmen, 77, requires dialysis due to kidney disease and also has other health issues, so Andrew works as her full-time caregiver. Unfortunately, all of the money that he earns is needed to pay their home’s lot rental, utilities, and other expenses.
“Whatever money comes in, it pays for bills and the rent; we didn’t have extra for the water heater,” Andrew said. The water heater outage “was quite a stressful time…. We spent a whole summer without hot water.”
Then, someone from the Kathi Koll Foundation called and “was adamant about getting this taken care of.” A gift card at Home Depot was arranged to buy the water heater and a repairman was hired to install it.
Afterwards, “within less than a week, he came and got the work done,” Andrew said. “The fact that we were finally able to get it taken care of was a huge relief.”
He also appreciated the kindness of the foundation’s director. “She was great. She was on top of keeping in contact with me, letting me know what information she needed and how she could provide assistance…. She really, really helped.”
We are grateful to be celebrating our 10th year of helping caregivers in need and to be supported by the many generous and caring friends who have helped make a difference in so many lives.
Please consider donating to the Kathi Koll Foundation so you can help make a difference in struggling family caregivers’ lives. Thank you!
Caregiver photos used with permission