Kathy Urso lava fund
Donation protected
My mom, Kathy Urso was raised in Los Angeles County and was finally able to fulfill her life long dream and move to Pahoa, HI.
She's been living almost a year in the Leilani Estates on Makamae St and has been slowly making her home into what she has always dreamed it to be. A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I took a trip out there to visit. We spent the vacation planting beautiful orchids, blackberries and helping her with gutters. The house was really coming together and becoming her dream home.
On May 3rd, 2018 she was woken up in the middle of the night by the fire department being told she had 5 minutes to evacuate. All she could grab was 2 of her 4 cats and a few clothes before she had to leave. She has been worried sick about her 2 cats that she left behind and tried as hard and she could to get back to find them, however she wasn't allowed due to the dangerous situation.
Fortunately she was able to contact an amazing neighbor who hadn't evacuated, who was able to find her cats for her on May 5, 2018. A day later they let Kathy back into Leilani Estates where she was able to pick up the cats from her neighbor and hoped to grab a few personal things she had left behind. We received a text from her saying, "so far everything looks so normal." But as she turned the corner to Makamae St the lava was rolling in and she knew her dream house was gone.
The next day we were able to contact the Hawaii Civil Defense who unfortunately confirmed our fears that the house was indeed gone. She has to start all over again and we are all heart broken.
We appreciate all the support and love we've been receiving and any donations go a long way to helping her get back on her feet while we figure out how to move forward.
Thank you for any help you can give at this difficult time.
She's been living almost a year in the Leilani Estates on Makamae St and has been slowly making her home into what she has always dreamed it to be. A few weeks ago, my girlfriend and I took a trip out there to visit. We spent the vacation planting beautiful orchids, blackberries and helping her with gutters. The house was really coming together and becoming her dream home.
On May 3rd, 2018 she was woken up in the middle of the night by the fire department being told she had 5 minutes to evacuate. All she could grab was 2 of her 4 cats and a few clothes before she had to leave. She has been worried sick about her 2 cats that she left behind and tried as hard and she could to get back to find them, however she wasn't allowed due to the dangerous situation.
Fortunately she was able to contact an amazing neighbor who hadn't evacuated, who was able to find her cats for her on May 5, 2018. A day later they let Kathy back into Leilani Estates where she was able to pick up the cats from her neighbor and hoped to grab a few personal things she had left behind. We received a text from her saying, "so far everything looks so normal." But as she turned the corner to Makamae St the lava was rolling in and she knew her dream house was gone.
The next day we were able to contact the Hawaii Civil Defense who unfortunately confirmed our fears that the house was indeed gone. She has to start all over again and we are all heart broken.
We appreciate all the support and love we've been receiving and any donations go a long way to helping her get back on her feet while we figure out how to move forward.
Thank you for any help you can give at this difficult time.
Organizer
Eric Swenston
Organizer
Pahoa, HI