HELP PATRICIA GET BACK ON HER FEET

UPDATE: 3-26-2023

An update on Patricia Steele’s home fire of last week in Harlem, NYC.

Patricia wishes she could thank each and every one of you personally for your generosity but at this moment she is overwhelmed physically, emotionally and financially. She is also overwhelmed with gratitude for the extraordinary support and kindness she has been given.

Patricia and some wonderful friends went to the site yesterday after the Fire Marshall officially reported on its cause: faulty wiring in an old building. She and her son Leo went through the rubble to salvage what they could.

The road to recovery will be slow and filled with loss but also hope.

Thank you for your humanity and your help!

UPDATE: Patricia is overwhelmed with gratitude and thanks everyone, from the bottom of her heart, for their generosity. What she is learning is that the depth of her losses and the challenging road ahead, both emotional, and financial, are way greater than she realized they would be. As someone who has dedicated the last five years of her career to helping women in need, she finds herself needing more help than she could have imagined, to get a semblance of her life and her sons' lives restored to safety and peace.

Anyone who knows Patricia knows how much she loved her apartment, which was filled with her cherished collection of books, art and furniture. The place had a world of style and charm, just like PK herself. Last night, her apartment, which she shared with her three sons, caught on fire. Patricia, who was alone, woke, terrified to be choking on smoke. Blinded by it, she frantically felt around and called to her cat, but wasn't able to find him. She was forced to run out without him, and tragically, her beloved Buck didn't make it. Nor did most anything she owned. She ran outside in a robe and bare feet and stood in the street watching her world go up in flames. You all know what a big-hearted soul PK is and while I'm sure this fundraiser will embarrass her a bit, her expenses - to store whatever can be salvaged, to find a new place (which requires first and last month's rent) to replace essentials and get back on her feet, are enormous. If ever she needed her friends, it's now. Please give what you can.