Stranger Helps Family Forced from Home by Sewer Back-Up

Chris Gordon says he’s never met Philip and Mary Penberthy and their teenaged son.

But after hearing about the struggles of the family — who became homeless after a series of construction-related mishaps during road work last summer made their home inhabitable — he felt compelled to do something to help them.

Gordon has started a fundraiser on GoFundMe to raise money for the family to help “normalize” their lives as they pursue the matter in court. The Penberthys are suing the city, which obtained an easement for a construction company to use part of the family’s land during the Hamlin Road project.

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However, city officials say that, though sympathetic to the family’s plight, their legal fight is appropriately directed at the contractor whose workers caused the damage, estimated by the family at around $250,000. In Oakland County Circuit Court earlier this week, the Penberthys had asked for a $100,000 escrow account to begin repairing their home, but their request for temporary relief was denied.

The sewer backed up in June when the crews hit a sewer line while relocating a gas line, filling the basement with more than a foot of raw sewage. Later, the contractor hit a water main, resulting in flooding in the Penberthy home.

In his GoFundMe campaign, Gordon cited news stories quoting Mary Penberthy saying that the family’s resources are running low and their son’s grades are suffering because the cramped hotel accommodations leave him without adequate study space. Winter is coming, but the only cold-weather coats and gear they owned were destroyed in the sewer backups.

Any money raised “will go to help normalize their lives,” Gordon wrote. “They are in need NOW!”

As for his motivation to help people he’s never met, Gordon wrote:

“ … Life is hard enough without having to deal with this kind of calamity. I am a very compassionate person and feel strongly about helping these people. I can’t even imagine the fear and horror they must be feeling. … Again, I have never met these people, however, if I put myself in their shoes, well, can’t even imagine.”

Gordon seeded the page with his own $50 donation.

Related

• Family Displaced When Home Becomes River of Raw Sewage Sues
• Temporary Relief Denied in Massive Sewer Backup