Help Pepper & Brooke recover after a house fire!

On Saturday, September 23, 2022, my friend Pepper woke up to the sound of popping. She grabbed her phone, got up, and peered down the stairs, thinking one of her cats had knocked something off a counter.

Instead, she saw the electric scooter she had been charging overnight spark, ignite, and consume the house where she lived in billowing flames.

In the course of about 7 minutes, the entire house was gutted by fire. Calling 911 from a balcony, Pepper was close to jumping from the second story by the time firefighters arrived less than 10 minutes after the flames began.

Both Pepper and her roommate and friend, Brooke, survived the fire, but lost three cats and all their possessions.

In the days since, Pepper has dealt with the physical trauma of an ordeal I cannot even begin to imagine. Smoke inhalation has caused severe nausea; she has spent days on end unable to eat, dehydrated, and has been to two separate ERs in order to mitigate symptoms.

Aside from the physical trauma of the incident, Pepper is also chronically ill, and has mobility issues. Without her scooter, she has very little reliable transport for longer walks that she cannot rely on public transport for.

Pepper is still waiting on the insurance claim to process. The Red Cross has met with her and given her some money to get clothes and food to her, but Pepper is now faced with the daunting task of replacing her entire life, which cannot be accomplished in one or two runs to Target.

Pepper is currently facing an unimaginable situation, with very little support from her family. She had already been dealing with so much-- now, she has more to deal with, without a home to do it in.

I know that it is near impossible to do enough to completely restart Pepper's life. It's going to take a long time to get Pepper back on her feet.

But her community, and my community, are here to help her. I have been helped by strangers in the worst parts of my life. I genuinely believe we, as humans, look out for each other.

It's now time to look out for Pepper and Brooke.

The money we raise will go towards any number of things-- food, paying for her hotel stay, clothing, transportation, vet bills for the one cat that survived, medical bills for the injuries and hurt sustained, any travel, paychecks missed, therapy bills. All money is going directly to her account (not mine), and will be used at her discretion for what she needs.

I know she has lost everything, but I am very glad to have not lost her.

Thank you for reading.

- C