Early this morning, our friend Maya Harris lost her home and car in a fire. It’s a devastating blow in a year already shaped by profound loss.

Just after 6 AM, a neighbor walking his dog noticed flames engulfing her home and began pounding on the door, shouting for everyone to get out. That moment of courage is the reason Maya and her young son are alive today.

They escaped with nothing but the clothes on their backs. The home is a total loss. The family car was destroyed. Every belonging, every memory, everything they had - gone in minutes.

She hosted Thanksgiving in that home yesterday. Today, it’s gone.

No family should have to face loss like this, especially after what they have already endured.

This month marks one year since Maya lost her daughter, Tanayjah. In the middle of that trauma, she stepped up to raise her daughter’s two boys - then 2 and 6 - while continuing to raise her own young son, who was 4 at the time. She rebuilt the family once already. Now she has to start over again.

By what can only be described as a miracle, her grandsons happened to be elsewhere last night. If they had been home, we would be telling a very different story.

According to the Binghamton Fire Department, crews arrived to find heavy fire throughout the entire front of the home, flames consuming both the house and the SUV in the driveway. The fire had already begun spreading to the attached home next door. Firefighters launched a rapid “blitz attack” to stop the flames, and thankfully, no injuries were reported. But the damage is catastrophic. The house is gone. The car is gone. Every necessity for daily life is gone.

Maya is now facing the impossible: starting from zero while caring for three young children who depend on her, all while carrying the grief of losing her daughter only a year ago.

This fundraiser will help with:

• Emergency housing

• Replacing clothing, shoes, coats, and basic needs

• Furniture and household items

• A reliable vehicle

• Stability and routine for the children during an already traumatic time

No one should have to survive this much loss. Not in one lifetime... and certainly not back-to-back.

If you can give, please give. If you can’t, sharing this makes a real difference. Maya has always been someone who shows up for others - as a mother, a grandmother, a caregiver, and a source of strength for her community. Now it’s our turn to show up for her.

Thank you for helping this family begin the long road back to safety, stability, and hope.

Please donate and share. 

No donation is too small.