"Over the course of the night, as the storm rolled in, I watched as water flooded Flagler ave. and into the businesses below us. We had thought we would be safe because we were above ground level. But little did we know at around 5:45 in the morning, my dad and I both were awakened by a strong smell of smoke. Within a minute, our apartment was filling with smoke, and we left with only ourselves in hand. The fire progressed so quickly you couldn't see anything but dark gray smoke as we were running down the stairs to safety. It was a crazy and heartbreaking experience, but all of my neighbors and I are so strong. We sat outside, watching our building with hope but soon realized we had lost everything. From there was an adventure of walking the flooded streets of Flagler with my dog Luna in hand to our nearest friend's house.

Thank you everyone for all the love and kindness you have shown to my family and I. We appreciate it so so much.

-Raquel"

The above story is Raquels' personal experience during the horrifying events caused by hurricane Ian.

Hi everyone!

Jessica Roberts and I are creating this fundraiser to help support our family/ close friends Randy Roberts and his daughter Raquel Roberts.

On September 28th, the overnight impacts of Hurricane Ian resulted in surge flooding on Flagler Ave. A fire started below their unit around 6 am, and the entire building was quickly engulfed in flames. Randy, Raquel, and their dog Luna made it out safely. But soon realized they were going to lose everything. Everything from sentimental items to vital documents is all gone.

Randy has been a part of the Key West community since the 80s and his daughter Raquel is currently a nursing student at FKCC, the local college. Raquel and Randy hold Key West and its community close to their hearts. They have mentioned that the main reason they can stay strong through this devastating time is their community's random acts of kindness. This gofundme is to help them get back on their feet, hopefully find affordable housing in Key West, and replace essential life-needed items. Any support helps them through this time of need. They understand that everyone is going through this together; any type of donation, leads on affordable housing, or even just sharing this gofundme is greatly appreciated.

Please help the Roberts family through this catastrophic event.