Lost Everything Twice In 6 Months. Hurricane,Fire

Hi, my name is Jason, and I’m fundraising for a good friend and neighbor, Nathan Fabre, who has just lost everything he owns for the second time in the last 6 months. Hurricane Ida devastated lower Lafitte in August 2021. Nathan’s house was flooded and knocked off the foundation as the 12 foot storm surge ripped through the streets. Along with all the furnishings and personal belongings that was lost in his home, his boat had also flipped and sank in the flood waters. The high currents had displaced his crab traps he had stacked in his yard, and hundreds of traps were lost and never recovered. He’s a commercial crabber. This is his way of life, this is how he makes his living, his livelihood was stripped away from him in a matter of hours as Hurricane Ida made its way inland. Although FEMA and the Red Cross seems to make a great image of themselves, many of Lafitte’s residents believe they did not receive adequate help from those agencies. It was a painstaking path to recovery with little to no means of income, as his boat and crab traps were lost in the storm. Luckily a neighbor had a house for rent at a decent rate, and things was slowly starting to get back to normal. He got a job at the local Dollar General just to make ends meet. He no longer was able to live his normal lifestyle, he saved every dollar he earned, wiped out his savings and was able to buy a decent used boat and 300 crab traps. Life was starting to look up, then tragedy struck again. Early this morning at 4:40am (3/20/22) his home he was renting went up in flames. The fire spread quickly and engulfed the house within a few minutes. Luckily him, his wife and the family cat was all able to escape safely with no injuries or casualties. Firefighters were able to put out the blaze, but not before everything was destroyed. Once again Nathan and his family are homeless with their only possessions being the clothes on their backs. The boat did receive minor damages from the heat of the fire, but unfortunately many of the crab traps that were stored under the house were destroyed. I’m reaching out and asking for help because he’s too modest to ask anyone for assistance through this tragic time. He did not have rental insurance or any insurances that would cover fire damages. FEMA may be able to help out with temporary housing as he finds a new home or this one is rebuilt, but has no means of covering his possession losses. His savings is now gone, he’s relying strictly on Dollar General paycheck, with very little gear to go back commercial crabbing.

 

Why should we help Nathan? I’ve been knowing Nathan over 10 years and has been the greatest friend and neighbor anyone could ask for. He’s always willing to help others in their times of need, and still today, would give you the shirt off his back. I met Nathan when he was running crab traps out of a small aluminum boat without the fancy pot pullers and dragging those crab traps off bottom by hand. He’s an extremely hard worker, and when commercial fishing and crabbing is all you’ve done your entire life, it’s hard to jump in a new career making good money other than entry level minimum wage jobs. At 48 years old, many companies wouldn’t even considering hiring someone with little to no experience in that field. Commercial fishing is in his blood, it’s his way of life, it’s what he loves to do. Let’s all pull together and help him get back on his feet. We’re only asking for help to help him get back working. He’ll work for what he needs, just right now he can’t because of the damaged crab gear. Kinda made me sick when I found out how much money gorilla glue lady had raised for stupidity. Nathan was knocked on his ass twice by natural disaster and fire. I’m asking everyone to pitch in just a small amount and even if you don’t have anything to spare, please share this story to get as much outreach as possible.

 

I’ll be putting a slideshow video of the pictures of his flooded home from Hurricane Ida, as well as the pictures from the fire. Link will be uploaded shortly. https://www.facebook.com/100000577732187/posts/5463260787036458/?d=n 

 

If you’ve made it this far and still reading, I thank you for your time and I hope you’re able to contribute financially or even by sharing this post. Either way, anything is a blessing at this time and we appreciate and thank you for your consideration.