Help Jake and Jared Rebuild After Flood
Donation protected
Dear family, friends, and community,
Our beloveds, Jake, Jared, and the residents of Heartbreak Hotel, have devastatingly lost their home in catastrophic flooding last night. Heartbreakingly, this flood occurred one year exactly to the day of the historic flooding in Vermont last July. This time, the flooding decided to wash away the entire back half of the Heartbreak, which housed 12 humans and 6 cats.
All the humans are safe! However, Jake and Jared along with their fellow residents have lost their homes and all their treasured belongings. Their renters insurance does not cover floods, so none of their belongings are covered. As many will remember, Jake and Jared dedicated immediate and long term mutual aid to relief efforts for community members in last years flood. They need our aid and help now.
For those who don't know Jake and Jared well, they are two of the most beautiful humans you will ever meet. They work for non-profits and as self-employed artists. They are beloved by their community, neighborhood, and extended families. And Jake will always have a car or car tip to help you out ;)
We're asking for your aid to help Jake and Jared secure stable housing in the journey that will ensue after this devastating moment. Housing is incredibly expensive and hard to come by, particularly in Vermont. Jake and Jared had previously considered moving near family in Louisiana due to affordability, however they stayed in Vermont because of the safety of queer community and a lower risk of natural disasters...
In last year's historic flood, the basement of the Heartbreak flooded, but the house was deemed safe to continue to inhabit. It did not show signs of collapse. The complete and total loss of their home, this historic building, last night, was completely unexpected. Jared and Jake were out of town at the time of the flood, and there was no time for their roommate to get any treasured belongings out. Neighbors evacuated the building only minutes before it collapsed into the river and washed away.
Any donation you can make will directly support Jake and Jared's journey to secure stable housing for themselves in the community they continue to call home. Please help get Jake and Jared situated by donating and sharing widely. Thank you for your love, care, compassion, and help at this critical time.
UPDATE FROM JAKE AND JARED morning of 7/12/24:
We are absolutely blown away and humbled at the generosity our greater communities have shown us in the past 48 hours. We are speechless and don’t even know where to start. Each and every one of you is making a massive difference in helping us rebuild our lives from scratch. We started our GoFundMe early and some of our neighbors didn’t get that chance to. Some are busy supporting their kids through this tragedy, others are mourning the loss of their beloved animal companions, and others didn’t have the online community and tech literacy to ask for or have a GoFundMe started for them. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE prioritize the following fundraisers. Please always donate to the one with the least donated so far. We have also increased our own goal as we have been advised to do. It is hard to ask for this much help and hard to fathom how much we’ve lost. There is a long road ahead for all of us. This building housed a tight-knit community. From children, to elders, to teachers to pets… this building really is a family. To be all separated AND homeless is incredibly untethering. Thank you again and please continue to share widely.
Ernest and Shane: https://gofund.me/9eadf266
Bob Gray: https://gofund.me/08504f68
Christiana, Walker, and baby Jules: https://gofund.me/55f00a14
Sequana: https://gofund.me/a7916573
Hope (family of 3): https://gofund.me/ce92a135
Caleb: https://gofund.me/9231b83a
Margie: https://gofund.me/00a6c84c
Julia: https://gofund.me/ec74d407
Organizer and beneficiary
Alexia Buono
Organizer
Plainfield, VT
Jared Birchmore
Beneficiary