Help Patrick Rebuild From Electric Fire

On Thursday September 30, my best friend Patrick L. Riley woke up to flames - an electric fire that started inside the kitchen walls of his one-bedroom co-op/condo and spread quickly through the unit. Patrick got out in the nick of time --- but has lost most everything. Firefighters worked as quickly as they could to extinguish the fire but not before all was lost or extremely damaged. Thankfully all the other tenants made it out of the building safely and no other units sustained damage nor did any tenants suffer injury.

Patrick is waiting for the co-op insurance company to complete its evaluation of the situation, but there are no promising guarantees. Patrick doesn't personally have homeowner's insurance, so the lean on him to recover out-of-pocket will be a heavier one. Still shaken, Patrick is fortunately staying safely with me in the next-door building indefinitely as next steps and timeline around re-building his unit will shape.

Patrick is able to continue his day-work - pushing through his current freelance projects and commitments on deck; honoring his commitments on calendar; and now pushing a hair more urgently to land the next season of good-fit, well-budgeted freelance work (prospects shaping but not yet firm).

Though despondent, he is staying encouraged and agile - to trudge along and manage steps to resolve. Most importantly, he escaped harm or worse - and to that, remains grateful and, frankly, a bit emotional with that close call. We want to deliver some relief and support Patrick's way - to aid him in piecing his life - and home - back together. Having lost just about everything, no contribution is too small. Whatever you can contribute as soon as possible will be helpful to manage the immediate steps before him!

Patrick is such a love light to us all - in so many ways, we are asking for help from our nearest and dearest, and our extended community, to assist us in helping him get back on his feet - one day at a time. We are eternally grateful to all of you for your love, your calls, and your well-wishes.

Moreover, we'll be adding in pointed needs as they present themselves - including specs around storage space for certain salvaged - and donated - things. Stay tuned.