My name is Erin, and I'm setting up this fundraiser on behalf of (and in the name of) Michael Barnette and his three roommates. They lost an immeasurable amount (including their home!) due to Hurricane Ida, and are in need of resources to get back to some semblance of normal.

Image description: Wooden stairs are partially covered by water and floating debris, including a few plastic bins, a messenger bag, and a single boot.

Late on September 1st, as Hurricane Ida howled through the New York metro area, I got a single message from Michael. It read simply: "Hey, our whole basement flooded. We're all okay. It's just stuff." Naturally, this made me worry, so I responded. After a few more questions and updates, it turned out that the flooding was so much worse than any of us had assumed.

Image caption- Left: Damage to the faceplate of the door that was forced open by the flood as it poured into their basement. Right: Evidence of how far the water pushed the wall (far left) away from the tile (middle of the shot, under the shelf and garbage bag).

Water pressure broke doors and bowed walls, eventually filling their entire basement with five feet of water. Everything that had been down there is either unsalvageable or will be very labor intensive to reclaim.

Affected items include:

Image description: Two pictures, each showing flood damaged belongings. The right includes stage combat swords, a television, and flood ruined clothing. The left includes various furniture, a refrigerator, cat furniture, DVDs and video games.

The space was unlivable after the flood. Fortunately, the landlord had an open apartment in a different building, and the four roommates began to move. Unfortunately, as they weren't in a previously marked flood plain, their insurance is covering none of their loss.

Image description: More flood damaged belongings- a cat tree, a dresser, books, and clothing.

The funds I'm asking for address their needs to:

I've set this fundraiser up in Michael's name (with his full consent) so that he'll be able to access and withdraw the funds directly.

Image description: A man (Michael) with a beard wearing black and green clothing, holding a sword and drawing a line on a foe outside of the frame.

Image credit: Adam Jason Photography

Michael is one of my most beloved humans. I've watched him grow into a brilliant stage combatant and wonderful acting teacher, as well as a tireless advocate for equity in all facets of stagecraft. He's been there for my daughter and me through some of our darkest times over the past five years, and has never once sought any sort of special consideration for any of his efforts. Please help me get him and his household back on his feet. It would mean the world to me if we could show this fantastic person that his community cares about him as much as he cares about it.