This summer, as part of a series on poverty in Merced County, the Sun-Star published a story about the Hernandez's, a family of seven that shares a 500-square-foot shack in Le Grand.
The story is here.
Today, the head of the Hernandez family, Grandma Donna, called me to ask for some help.
"We're in trouble," she told me. "The water heater's broken."
Donna reported that it quit six weeks ago. Her family has been boiling water on the stove to wash dishes and taking showers at a neighbor's.
She said the store that sold her family the heater seven years ago won't make good on its 10-year warranty because the Hernandez's kept it outside when it was meant to be indoors.
Donna said the family can't afford a new water heater and they haven't been able to fix the old one.
So, anybody got a water heater they don't need? Donna said the family is willing to pay, but they can only do so in installments.
If anyone's willing to help, call me at the Sun-Star and I'll put you in touch with the Hernandez's. (209) 385-2477.
