We need your Aloha

Dear Friends,

As my family and I process the loss of our home and all of our belongings, I’m reaching out to ask for support from my community. Most of you know my mom, but for those who don’t, she suffers from Dementia. It’s never easy watching someone who raised you turn completely into a child. We still see glimmers of our mom, but at the same time we struggle with changing her diapers, cleaning her, feeding her, changing her clothes, calming her anxiety, working through her inability to talk and the difficulties of trying to express emotion, etc. Our lives are uniquely dependent on one another and I want to do my best to do everything within my power to continue to support our family. The home I bought was to keep us all together and now not only is our home gone, but our entire neighborhood has burned to the ground. We are trying our best to navigate through this incredibly challenging time together. For now, my friends have offered us a place until the end of the month. In the meantime though, I want to do all I can to prepare us on this new challenging chapter - not just for myself, but to support my neighbors with this as well. My neighbors, Mona and Tyrone’s, lost their family homes - they burned down as well. They grew up and raised there kids in our neighborhood. Anything I raise will be split evenly to support all three households to support there future with essentials and uncovered expenses. Our community became my Ohana. We grew to love each other and look out for one another. They welcomed my family in when I moved there and they’ve watched over my mom as well. Both families were on the edge of retirement. Who would have thought we would all become homeless in the blink of an eye. I’m asking for your Aloha. Mahalo for all your support.