WATERLOO - The Lesh family 2009 summer vacation has been anything but.

As flames engulfed their home July 12, firefighters struggled in vain to save five dogs and three cats that could not escape the thick black smoke. Havenn Lesh, 13, escaped with only a minor burn to her hand, and firefighters managed to save one dog.

The Red Cross and St. Vincent de Paul Society provided housing to the family of four at area hotels for most of the two weeks that followed. But the family has struggled to find housing at a price they can afford.

"It's hard to find a decent place for that kind of money. We don't have money for a deposit," said Rocky Lesh, 53.

So last week a neighbor lent them a large family tent to pitch in the backyard. Others provided a couple of full-size mattresses and some cushions for a twin-size sleeping pad.

Their nylon home bends in the breeze in the shadow of their blackened home. Several camping chairs provide seating for Lesh, his wife, Cynthia, and their children Rocky Jr., 16, and Havenn.

Two coolers of food from the Northeast Iowa Food Bank double as extra benches for visitors. Flies buzz around a neglected afternoon lunch of ramen noodles. The family's sole luxury: Green habanero and jalapeno potted plants sitting on a ledge of the privacy fence.

"It's rough times for them. You never know, it could have been us just as easily," said Kirk Howard, who lives two doors down.

For nine years, Rocky Lesh said, the family scraped by on his income from Omega Cabinets. But he was laid off in February and was told he could re-apply, he said. He has looked for jobs, but has been collecting unemployment since.

The family made enough money to pay $200 a month the past 14 years to buy their home, at 631 Kern St., on contract. Their income was low enough that their daughter, who has a developmental disability, collects Social Security insurance.

Lesh said the owner of the home, listed in county records as Great Plains Co. with a mailing address in Coffeyville, Kan., contacted him to say the house was insured but the personal property inside was not. He does not yet know how the fire will affect his contract, or if his family will be able to live in the home again.

As their displacement moves into a new month, they see no end in sight. Lesh and his neighbors said they've gone down the list of nonprofits in the phone book with no luck.

"It's like they're falling through the cracks," neighbor Becky Ashton said.

One area nonprofit gave them a list of properties all out of their price range, and another continues to search for homes. They planned to apply for Section 8, the federal low-income housing program, last week despite a 18-month waiting list.

Lesh said he would like to have the home assessed to see if it can be salvaged. He and his wife don't want to move away from what he calls their "neighborhood family."

Almost every night, a neighbor or two spends some time at the backyard fire pit to keep them company and drop off food, clothing and other supplies.

"I don't want to see them leave the neighborhood," said Lori Fry, another neighbor. "We're family. All I want is for them to be able to take care of their kids like normal people."