My name is Lucas Chen, and I am currently a first year UCR student who is affected by the University Riverside Garden fire.

With this being my first year studying at UCR and also leaving home to live on my own, I’ve had a challenging time to overcome all the difficulties of being a young adult. Living on my own with a roommate was something that I’ve never experienced growing up, and being honest it was something I had to get used to. Same goes with living in an apartment complex, I had to learn how to not disturb my neighbors and how to manage a lifestyle while doing so. As the year went on, I became more capable and finally found a rhythm to maintain a healthy lifestyle as a first year student. While everything was seemingly going great, few bangs on the door and sirens outside quickly changed the narrative.

While I was enjoying a casual nap before my classes, I was hearing people yelling and doors being banged on. At first I thought I was just dreaming, but the smell of smoke woke me up and I finally realized what had happened. By the time of my realization, the fire had already expanded and is burning toward my unit, in a panic I quickly grabbed whatever was next to me and rushed out the door with my roommate. As we were trying to evacuate, I searched my pocket to see what I had grabbed, and luckily it was my car keys, which helped me successfully getting my car out of the parking lot. But besides my car, my phone, and my wallet, everything I had is gone, whether it is expensive computer hardware or sentimental gifts from family and friends. This fire has caused extreme suffering to me mentally and financially as I lost my home and all academic resources nearing the finals week of school. As an ongoing college student, this is not a problem that I can easily recover from. But I’ll try my hardest to regain everything I’ve lost.

Please help a student out on pursuing his education and also regain any form of financial stability. I greatly appreciate any amount of donation as it will definitely impact how I can get my life back together carrying on. Thank you and wish no one ever will have to go through this ever.

How to Help: University Riverside Gardens Apartment Fire