Fire took Chris & Bailey's home. They need help!

On Friday, July 14, 2023, my friend Chris' apartment caught fire. She was living in the Emerald Village Senior Apartments. Through an incredible turn of luck, her companion kitty Bailey had her annual veterinary appointment that day, so they were not home when her balcony suddenly caught fire. The cause is still under investigation, and while the fire didn't get into her apartment very far, it did set the sprinkler system off in her apartment and in the attic above her place.

https://abc7chicago.com/schaumburg-fire-emerald-village-today-department/13507777/

Everything she owned was ruined by smoke, fire or water, and the restoration company declared everything a total loss. Unfortunately, Chris did not have renter's insurance and is left with nothing.

The damage in these pictures would be heartbreaking no matter who the apartment belonged to, but for Chris, it's even more devastating. Chris moved into this apartment in February of 2022. This was the first permanent home she'd had in almost 5 years. Prior to living here, Chris had been staying in a 1 bed Extended Stay America hotel for a little more than two years.

Chris lost her last apartment in 2017 and began living out of her car with her two very senior cats. When the car broke down in 2018 and would no longer run, it was impounded and her cats were taken from her to a shelter. We hope that they were adopted into a loving home, but she was never able to learn their fate.

I happened to drive by my local library one Sunday in the fall of 2019 and stopped to ask her if she needed a ride. She explained that she was homeless and had been living in the Extended Stay for as long as her disability SSI payment would allow her and then would live on the street until her next check came in. I took her to the ESA she had been staying at and helped her make it to her next check.

I've been helping her get her feet back under her, getting her credit straightened out, making sure she was able to continue living in the hotel while we found a permanent home for her. She adopted Bailey in September of of 2021 and they are quite the pair!

We were both so excited when we found her this apartment at Emerald Village! This is her saying goodbye to the tiny hotel room as she headed to her new home:

Slowly, she started putting together a home for the first time in a long time.

And then ... this...

While we're thankful that neither Chris nor Bailey were in the apartment when the balcony caught fire, and we're relieved that the two of them can stay with me for the near term, they would both love to have their own home and space again. But they lost everything. Chris actually owns less now than when she moved into a permanent home after being homeless.

We're asking for your help to get her enough money to be able to fully furnish a new apartment, pay a security deposit and first month's rent. We were able to buy her a week's worth of clothes and some toiletries, but aside from what we bought in the last few days, the only things she owns are the clothes she was wearing and the carrier Bailey was in while attending the vet.

Please give what you can and help her achieve her dream of a stable home!