Help Family Bounce Back After Tragedy

On July 23rd, a fire started in a York, Maine apartment building , forcing two families to evacuate their homes in the middle of the night, one of the families being my aunt and cousins. Now without shelter and unsalvageable furniture and possessions, a mother is left scrambling to find a new place for her and and her two young children.

For nearly a decade, the mother and her children suffered in a toxic home environment at the hands of her alcoholic, emotionally and physically abusive husband. Throughout their marriage, the now ex-husband spent years socially isolating my aunt and making her financially dependent on him so she could not leave.

Last year, she had to navigate her way through the height of a brutal divorce while keeping her children safe and adjusting to the new way of life brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The three years of divorce proceedings forced her to take time off of work and spend money she didn't have on legal fees, pushing her into debt.

The emotional turmoil of living in this hostile environment as well as the divorce caused her children to experience mental health issues as well as academic struggles. After escaping this abusive marriage and toxic household, this family got a fresh start and began the process of healing from their years of abuse and trauma.

They've only been living in this apartment for two months, and could not afford renter's insurance while they were settling in. The American Red Cross was able to provide some assistance to both of the families affected by the fire, but it is not enough to sustain them. They were temporarily placed into a hotel, but they have to leave by tomorrow, July 31st.

Currently, her children are stuck with no choice but to stay with their father as their mother is trying to secure a new home for them.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Please consider donating, any amount helps.