Hi, my name’s Adrian, and I’m 23. My wife, Taina, is 21. We moved into our first apartment together this past May, finally starting a life of our own after a tough journey to get on our feet financially. With me working a regular job and doing delivery gigs in the evenings, we were just beginning to feel stable.

But on the morning of November 14th, everything changed.

It started like any other morning. I was up early, and Taina was still sleeping. Then, out of nowhere, I heard shouting from outside. I looked out the window and saw a firefighter rushing through smoke with a flashlight, banging on doors. The smell of smoke hit me, and I knew something was terribly wrong.

We grabbed what we could and rushed outside, barely processing what was happening. Firefighters were yelling at us to evacuate. We went to Taina’s parents’ house, waiting to hear anything about what was left of our home.

Hours later, we learned the devastating news: the fire took everything. All we have now are the clothes we were wearing, our phones, and the memory of our home. My wallet, with all my ID, is gone. We lost our belongings, the life we were building, and our sweet pet beta fish.

It feels like we’re starting from scratch. We’re trying to stay strong, but honestly, this has shaken us to the core.

We’re reaching out for help to start over. If you can donate, no matter how small, it would mean everything to us. And if you’re not able to, please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we go through this. Thank you so much for taking the time to read our story.