(Hurricane Helene) Restore Hope for Andrew's Homeless Mother

Hello everyone, my name is Andrew and I'm 17. I am trying to help my mother raise money as our home was severely damaged by a 4-5 foot storm surge from Hurricane Helene in the Tampa Bay area. Our house was completely flooded. My mother is a teacher who loves her children, and she is extremely devastated that she has lost almost everything. I am grateful to say she is okay physically, but mentally this has drained both of us. We have worked tirelessly, day in and day out, to salvage what we can and throw out what we can't.

We lost our refrigerator, washer & dryer, all subfloor inside, stove, cabinets, bed and couches, old family keepsakes, most of my siblings' baby pics and other pictures, outdoor A/C unit, and the list goes on and on.

As of right now, she is homeless until the home is fully functional. This is not the first time she has had to go through losing everything. Six years ago, she lost her daughter (my sister) Ashley, and the pictures were very important memories to all of us. I know there is nothing we can do about this as the damage has already been done. The home as of now is unsafe to walk through as she has already fallen through the sub-floor twice. The sub-floor has to be taken out and replaced, which is costly. A couple of weeks ago, we were starting to renovate the old flooring, spending hours of time working and paying hundreds of dollars on laminate and grout. Right now, all that laminate has been ruined by the surge, including the boxes she bought to finish the job.

This is a very saddening situation our whole community is in currently, and this is only the beginning. My heart goes out to every person that also lost everything and who are also currently homeless due to these horrific circumstances we are all enduring. Any contributions will not go unnoticed. Thank you to everyone who has reached out to help; you are greatly appreciated & all support will go to the rebuilding process. With your kindness and prayers, I have faith we will be able to recover what we lost along with restoring our community we love very deeply!