Maui Fire Help - Marisa Utrillo & Extended Family

My name is Moka Brown from Maui, and I am fundraising for my best friend Marisa Utrillo and her extended family. She fled her home in Lahaina and is currently displaced. Marisa fled with her three daughters, Mia (19), Megan (15) and Molly (5), her "Forever Peter Pan" special needs adult son, Shawn, and her husband Gev.

Her house was one of the few that still stands in Lahaina, but she cannot live there - the mass destruction of the town will make it absolutely unlivable. The air quality is toxic, the water is not drinkable. There is no electricity. Living there would mean the already traumatized children overlooking the death and destruction of the town every day. Because her house does stand, she will see no insurance money, even though they cannot live there. It is a strange blessing and a curse at the same time.

The family house, which her brother lived in and the gathering place of her family is completely destroyed. Marisa's place of work is gone and she has lost her source of income. Gev is a chef at a West Side hotel. Even though there is no work, he is volunteering his services cooking for those in the shelters. Mia is going back to college and the family is struggling to figure out how to pay for this as well. The extended family lost their jobs in the fire and their homes.

Eventually, Marisa's dream is to one day, when it is safe both physically and psychologically to live there again, be able to rebuild their home and extend it large enough to fit her brother's family and create a home for all ten of them. This is who she is. The woman with the biggest heart I have ever known. Today she was looking at the paint peeling off the wall at our studio and she volunteered to repaint the entire place - because this is who she is. Even though she has lost almost everything - she looks to see where she can help.

Please help this family. This family that always bends over backward to help others now needs your help.