Help Jan Stout who lost everything in Eaton Fire.

I’m Amoreena Stout, and I’m raising money to help my mom, Jan Stout, rebuild her life. I can’t stop crying, I’m sick to my stomach, and I haven’t been able to sleep for days. Seeing the real damage to my mom’s house is totally devastating and heartbreaking. We are in a state of shock. She lost everything. She was evacuated on the eve of Jan 7th from Altadena. She left with the clothes on her back, a pair of slippers, and a single change of clothes. She thought the Eaton Fire wasn’t even gonna hit her neighborhood in Altadena. She thought she would be back in the morning, no problem. The fire wasn’t even near her neighborhood nor thought to be, when she left. That insane 80-100 mph wind bounced the fire over to her neighborhood overnight. By morning, her home had burned to the ground and is still smoldering to this day. She lost everything. The pictures and video show what was once a beautiful full 2-story house, garage, courtyard, garden, and back house.

Since it was not thought that her neighborhood was in real danger of catching on fire when she left, she didn’t take anything she needed or anything personal. My mom lost her home and 65+ years of a lifetime of memories of hers and our families gone overnight. She had a house full of her life’s travels and memories. Beautiful vintage and antique collectible furniture and art from her travels around the world. The few family heirlooms that she and we as a family had from her parents (my grandparents), and her grandmother (my great-grandmother) are gone forever: All the family photos, photos of friends, friends lost, travels, and of happier times. She lost every piece of clothing, jewelry, and shoes, of which she had a massive collection. My mom loves music and had a 600 CD jukebox that’s now gone. She loves cooking and baking and lost a kitchen full of tools and supplies. She’s always had beautiful linens; one that comes to mind was a colorful comforter that was made of silk Indian Saris, and those are all gone.

My mom is a very peaceful, loving, and spiritual person. She had a stunning Buddhist altar as well as many other statues of faith that meant a lot to us, gone.

My heart aches. We are beyond heartbroken and devastated. Our family will be changed by this forever. We are thankful she is alive and well more than anything. Our immediate family is small; it’s just her and me, and our husbands. We are just struggling by living paycheck to paycheck, so we don’t really have anything to start over with.

My mom has always been a very generous person and will share whatever she has with loved ones or those in need. She’s always the first person to jump to help someone in need. She has worked with many charities over the years. This is her nature. The majority of my mom’s money after basic living costs has been going towards a legal issue to reinstate her husband, Paul’s visa so that he can be here. He has currently been stuck in Jamaica the last 3 years and unable to be here with us due to a wrongful termination of his passport and visa. So, on top of everything else, my mom’s husband can’t even be with her now in her biggest time of need. We will continue to need additional money for the lawyer to resolve this issue as well.

What else this money will go to:

Immediate needs (Supplemental for whatever FEMA resources doesn’t cover, or if we dont’t receive help at all.) such as a place to live. With the amount of people displaced with all the fires across Los Angeles, it’s going to make it more difficult to find a place. There was already a housing shortage in Los Angeles. Now with the massive loss of homes across Los Angeles and so many thousands of people who are also displaced, it’s going to be harder to find something. Rents are already unreasonably high here, and I expect them to go higher due to demand. She had a good rental rate. We’ll likely be looking at the cost of rent tripling in costs.

Clothing and shoes for work and in general. Food. Toiletries. Bedding.

Supplies for the horrible process of digging and sifting through the rubble for anything that is salvageable. This will include metal detectors, safety goggles, respiratory masks, wheelbarrows, plastic storage tubs, shovels, mclaren tool, pulaski or axe, hard hats, heavy-duty gloves, and boots.

In the long term, this money will go towards (anything not covered by FEMA ,or  IF we don’t get approved by them.) restarting all over once a new home is found. Replacing all furniture, bedding, clothing, kitchen and cooking supplies, gardening tools, and so many other things that will come up that we haven’t even thought of yet.

The video that is included was shot the morning after her home burned to the ground by my mom. It includes her friend Annie, who is not only a friend but also the property owner. She lived in the front house, my mom in the back house, and they shared a courtyard and garden in between full of beautiful art, plants, and statues. In this, my mom films as they go to see what’s left of their homes and everything they owned. It also includes a few images that my mom has left of what her home looked like before this tragedy. It’s really hard for me to watch. It’s beyond heartbreaking.

We appreciate all the love and support from family and friends that we’ve already received. It really means a lot to us both. Any donations you can make will help, no amount is too small. It will be appreciated and help us move forward with what comes next. If you can’t afford to donate, just sharing this with anyone and everyone you can will also help. We love you all and thank you in advance.