My family and I live in our apartment on the bottom floor of our building in a small coastal town. We weren’t in an evac zone, but I knew that wouldn’t matter. We had taken in my elderly parents and their 3 elderly pets as they also lost their home and everything in it to the destruction of Hurricane Helene not even two weeks ago.

We packed everything we could into two suitcases, two backpacks, and fled with our family and pets out of Florida. We started receiving pictures showing our place completely flooded and even things we tried to put up high completely gone. I know they are just things, but they were our things, our life, and a lot of those things we use for work, my husband and I both being self-employed.

Right now we need funds so we can start the cleanup and try to box up and save as much as we can. Every little bit, no matter how small, helps us restart.