I had an iReport featured recently called "My parents' house looks like it was hit by a tornado". Their property was devastated by the ice storm here in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

So what do you do when you can't afford the cleanup?????????????

Scam artists have been trolling these neighborhoods, offering to cut up and haul off fallen trees -- and then making off with gullible people's money who paid them up-front.

But some people simply can't afford to clean up at all.

The ice is gone, and the damage cleanup and removal at my parents' property was just assessed at $15,000.00.

Due to the economy slump, my dad's business has come to an unfortunate screeching halt, and my parents don't even have ONE thousand dollars, much less $15,000.00, to clean up the mess. And my mom suffers from severe Fibromyalgia which hinders her ability to work and is on disability due to the same.

There are so many hundreds of downed trees out here on their land, that it might literally take one person with one chainsaw a couple of years to get through the mess.

Even though FEMA is here, they are certainly not going to do it for free. They're only picking up cut branches. My parents' private insurance won't cover the cost, either.

We are in trouble.

My brother was planning to get married on this once-beautiful (now smashed and ruined) flagstone patio in April. That's not an option now... these trees will be lying on the ground for years to come, and the yard will be unsafe for the children to play in.

It's just such an unthinkable disaster and we have no way to fix it. You never think this will happen to you... until it does. :( My mother is in such a deep depression that she can barely speak. She knows we can't afford the cleanup and there's nothing we can do.

If it weren't for the kindness of a family friend, they couldn't even have gotten the tree blocking their driveway cut apart. My own next door neighbor is going to cut my fallen trees (only three, thank goodness) for free as well. If he hadn't offered, I might not be able to afford my own cleanup, either.

What can we all do, those of us who can't afford to hire cleanup workers... or even buy (or use) a chainsaw? What will happen to the poor, the elderly and sick, or... those like my own parents, the middle class who used to have thriving businesses... and now have nothing, not even $100 extra dollars to hire help.

At least the old house is still standing. We will find a way to get through this... We will survive.