Help RJ Rebuild

Hi, my name is Chris Schmus and RJ has worked for my company since 2013. RJ is a wonderful member of our team and everyone looks forward to his office visits. Not only is he a valued member of our team but he is one of the nicest people you'll ever meet. RJ is not the kind of person to ask for help but he is in need of more assistance than I can give alone.

RJ is one of the 48 condo owners of the Horizon West Condominiums in Waukesha, WI. On December 2, 2021, all 48 owners were evacuated from the building with just 15 minutes' notice. As of today, the building will likely be demolished. RJ purchased his condo a few years ago and has already had to take out additional loans to cover the costs of balcony repairs last year which the owners of the condominium passed on to the unit owners. Now RJ is stuck with a mortgage for a home he cannot live in and there have been no answers from the owners of the building or the insurance company. RJ was intending to retire in November 2021 but now that is impossible.

All I am asking for is for some assistance for RJ until he can get some answers. I have contributed $3,000 of my own money to help out. If you have even a few dollars to spare for RJ, I know he would be very appreciative.

https://www.fox6now.com/news/waukesha-condo-collapse-threat-residents-move-out

https://www.wisn.com/article/repair-cost-of-waukesha-condo-building-outweighs-worth/38443857

https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/waukesha/news/waukesha/2021/12/10/horizon-west-condo-residents-waukesha-struggle-rushed-move-uncertainties/6454928001/

https://www.gmtoday.com/news/raze-order-issued-for-horizon-west-building/article_8a030174-6fbd-11ec-9c17-77fbbea8a0af.html

RJ's Words:

315 N. West Avenue was more than an address. Horizon West Condominiums was more than a building. It was a community. It was an idea that worked.

We were very young, we were very old, and we were all the in between.

We were widows and widowers, we were young families with young children, we were married couples, we were unmarried couples, and some of us were living alone.

We were of many different colors and backgrounds and we all got along. We existed together and we helped each other.

Even now, after we have lost our homes, we are still community.

Even now, after many of us have lost everything, and still have mortgages to pay, and many of us are facing a very uncertain future, we are still a community.

We are helping each other to find a new place to live.

We are helping each other in trying to navigate the complicated financial future many of us face.

We are helping each other in moving our possessions out of this once vibrant building.

We are hugging and crying and saying goodbye.

We are community.

We are what every community, every village, every town, every city, every state, and every country should be.

Soon we will all be disbursed. Some day the building will be gone. But we will always have in our hears the memory of the people, and the community that existed at Horizon West.