Local Family Loses Everything

Want to help victims of Hurricane Florence?   How about a  local  North Penn High School grad, Kirsten Byrne (my stepdaughter) and her family?  They are originally from PA and NJ, where the rest of us reside.
 
A year and a half ago, the family moved to North Carolina for better jobs.  They rented a nice ranch house, and did okay for themselves.  
Today, they have no home to go back to, and have lost most of their possessions!

Last Monday September 10th, Ricky and Kirsten Livingston were told to leave their home in Hubert, NC, or risk their lives.  Once they confirmed that Hurricane Florence was indeed headed right for them with 100 mph winds and several feet of rain, they knew they couldn’t stay.  Kirsten was 9 months pregnant with their 2nd child, and due any day!  They grabbed their 5 year old daughter (our grandchild), the dog, and anything they could fit into their SUV, and raced back home Monday night to the temporary safety of family.  Less than 48 hours after they arrived, Kirsten went into labor, and their second little girl was born. 

This family needs your help.  A friend sent them pictures of their ranch home this week, and there isn’t much left (feel free to ask me for copies.  I think I can only post one picture here).  The wind from Hurricane Florence destroyed the roof, threw the insulation and joists so hard onto everything that it broke furniture, and tore the house’s siding off.  For four days, everything in the house was exposed to thirty plus inches of rain, and filthy, infested flood water. There was no way to get to the house.  Everything is ruined.  Anything not wet now is covered in mold.  In the pictures, I can see new baby diapers floating in roof insulation, a ruined headboard, and baby clothes covered in water and roof pieces.  I can’t imagine having a brand new baby, and having to worry about finding a new place to live! 

Ricky has found a job up here already, but the family has an overwhelming  need right now to replace every day items that we all take for granted  - basic necessities , clothing, food, diapers, furniture, etc.  They will have to find a new place to rent, and pay at least the first month’s rent and a security deposit.  Ricky and Kirsten have SOME savings, but this is a huge amount of money that will be required - all unexpected expenses through no fault of theirs, and insurance won’t cover it. 

All of us in the extended family are helping, but we can’t meet all these needs fast enough.  This is why I’m asking for your help.  My husband is beside himself with concern for his daughter and her little family, so I offered to put this page up.   We figured it would take about $12,000 to get them back on their feet and in a rented home with furniture and some belongings. 

I have gladly given money to many worthy GoFundMe causes, and hoped I would never have to ask for myself or my family.  Natural disasters are not predictable, though, so here I am, asking you to be compassionate toward this little family who is under tremendous stress, when they should just be concerned with taking care of their new baby.

Any amount you can give would be very much appreciated!

Thanks for taking the time to read this!


Kirsten’s husband Ricky Livingston posted this on Facebook last week.  It broke our hearts: 

“Its a bitter sweet week for us.  On one hand, our beautiful little girl was born, and is  healthy .  On the other hand, the hurricane hit our house in NC and destroyed everything we own.  We lost what we bought for our new daughter, everything for our 5 year old, and all of our own belongings.   We have a week’s worth of clothes, and thats it!  Kirsten, the girls and I are okay, and we have our awesome dog.   We are safe and alive.  It just sucks knowing we now own nothing, and have nothing for our children right now. ”