Please Don't Let Fire Burn Up Alissa's Dream

I met Alissa a week after a fire occurred in her apartment.. She was sorting through her belongings to see what could be salvaged.. Alissa was born blind, is confined to a wheelchair and uses oxygen. I was impressed by her courage and her gratefulness for any kindness shown to her. Although quite traumatized, she was pressing forward to deal with the situation. Tenaciously she searched for assistance for a place to store what was left of her belongings. The Lions Club leased a storage unit for her use. As her apartment was unlivable, she had to find somewhere to stay. She located temporary accomodatioins through Helping Hands. Alissa is grateful for all that is done for her.

Now however the damage from the fire threatens to leave her homeless. The management has informed her that according to her lease it is her responsibility to pay for repairing the apartment. The kitchen cabinets had to be replaced from the fire and all of the flooring had to be replaced because of the water damage from the sprinkler system. She was told that it runs into the thousands. She has not received the total yet but if she cannot pay she will loose her apartment (as well as her housing benefits).

This puts Alissa in a dire situation. On her very limited income she cannot possibly pay for these expenses. She has to watch every penny as it is.

In addition the prospect of loosing her housing is extremely distressing as it takes a long time to find an apartment that is accessible for people with her disabilities.

There is no way Alissa can pay for the damage that was caused by the fire to her apartment or to replace her many items that she needs to keep pursuing her education. Any funds she receives will be used first to pay for the repairs and( if anything is left) to replace some of her specialized equipment for the blind that was ruined because of the fire. (i.e. talking microwave, computor with speech software for the blind, a reader that scans documents to voice).

Despite being born blind and having other disabilities, she refuses to allow those disabilities to define her. She gives her mother and God credit for teaching her that she can do anything she puts her mind to. She lives independently & attends college-studying for a degree to pursue some sort of social work. Alyssa has a fervent desire to do something for humanity. “I want to make a difference.” she says. Despite the recent tragedy, she is determined to pursue her degree. In fact, she is even taking summer classes online. “My mother told me when I was young that an education is something that nobody can take away from me,” she says. Alyssa feels that if she can accomplish this, she will be able to work. Her desire is not to live off the government but to contribute to society.

Please Do not let this tragedy keep her from achieving this. You can aid her recovery by contributing to this page. Every little bit helps. She will appreciate it.