TRAGIC FIRE LEAVES ST. JOHN SENIOR HOMELESS

Hello, everyone,

Early in the morning of February 23, 2025, our good friend Tommy Parada escaped out of the bedroom window of his burning house with only the clothes he was wearing. The house burned down to the ground. Tommy lost his home and everything in it. Even his beloved cat and companion Mojo remains missing. From the day his furry friend showed up on his doorstep, Tommy says Mojo was a gift from God.

This tragedy has caused Tommy unimaginable pain and sorrow. This house in St. John, Indiana was the Parada family home for over 67 years. Now Tommy, aged 74, is homeless. Along with his unbearable problems, he is now faced with the cost of removing the debris left by the fire. As you can imagine, the removal of this rubble comes with a very high price tag. Even worse, the Town of St. John is putting pressure on him to speed up the process, as it presents a hazardous situation. The town will pay for the lot cleanup, but this could attach a lien to the property of up to $25,000. Then there would be the high price of rebuilding, if such a thing is even possible.

Just to give you a bit of insight into Tommy himself, he has been a part of the Northwest Indiana and Chicago music and art communities for over 55 years. As of late, he has been buying used guitars, fixing them up, and giving them to needy kids in an attempt to keep them busy with positive and creative activities. Before the fire, Tommy's plan was to convert a room in his home into a small music studio so he and a close group of friends could donate their time giving the kids music lessons.

Next to losing Mojo, the worst thing of all is that the house had no insurance. The reason for this goes back to 2012, when Tommy was offered a lucrative position teaching goldsmithing at the prestigious Chicago Art Institute. But because his 92-year-old father was suffering from the onset of dementia, Tommy was forced to turn down the Art Institute job as well as leave his local teaching post to provide around-the-clock care for his father. Without Tommy's income, many cuts had to be made to the family budget. Home insurance was the very last thing to go. His father passed at age 98.

To further the tragedy, Tommy lost all his tools and supplies, as well as many guitars he would rebuild and sell to provide an income and keep him alive and smiling. Tommy also has many health issues, including high blood pressure, and a host of emotional disorders, including depression, anxiety disorder, PTSD, and panic attacks. Since the fire, his demeanor and anxiety are worsening, which is causing a lot of concern to us, his close friends. We are very worried about his overall health and well-being.

Looking forward, part of Tommy's financial plans are to find him immediate shelter, clear the property of fire debris, and possibly restore the bare minimum tools required to get back to making and selling guitars, which would bring in an income as well as do wonders for his mental and emotional health. He just wants to be self-sufficient once more.

In closing, let's just say this: we have a good guy in a very serious and severe crisis. Whatever you could do to help him would be greatly appreciated. Even a dollar would help at this point. And even if you can give nothing, that's okay too. Please just send a few prayers his way. Thank you all so much for taking the time to read this and consider Tommy's dire situation. Stay safe, and be well.

The friends of Tommy Parada