The Ali Family

When her boys were infants, orphaned by a crack-addicted mother, Lucy adopted them. As the now-healthy boys approached adolescence, she wanted to add more space to her one-bedroom, one-bath house and was grateful when she was approved for a home improvement loan. She gave the contractor a large sum of money to begin the renovations, but the contractor never finished the job, leaving a gaping hole in her roof. The unfinished second level was exposed to the elements, robbery and foraging animals. During one of her periodic visits to her ruined, uninhabitable house, she was alarmed to even find squatters. The Ali house sat without a roof as Lucy, a retired finance manager, struggled to keep up with the monthly mortgage payments.