My family recently experienced a devastating house fire. Thankfully, everyone made it out safely, but we lost a beloved kitten and a turtle in the fire. The damage was total—we lost everything, and our homeowners insurance will not cover temporary housing, any of our personal items, demolishing and rebuilding our home, or a place to move. This tragedy has left us with nothing and no clear path forward.

We are a multigenerational household with pets, and even finding a rental is proving to be a challenge. Donations so far have helped with clothing and some furniture, but the reality of starting over with no money is hitting hard. The funds raised here will go directly toward temporary housing, replacing essentials, and helping us rebuild or find a new home. We want to ensure our daughters feel some semblance of safety and security—short term, mid term, and long term. Our oldest daughter is supposed to start college at SCF this fall, and our youngest will begin 4th grade at BRE. We are so grateful for everything given so far and hate to ask for more, but we just don’t know what will happen if we can’t find a place to live.

Homeowners insurance in Florida is a known and increasingly unacceptable issue impacting families every day. Our preferred policy was cancelled when the company went out of business, and like many others, we were at the mercy of the mortgage lender securing a new policy. This new policy barely covers what was still owed on the house, leaving us nothing to demolish, rebuild, find temporary housing, or anything long term. We’ve worked so hard and made so many sacrifices to ensure our daughters could have the best life we could give them. We need your help to get through this crisis and rebuild our lives. Any support you can offer means the world to us.