Single Mother loses everything in house fire on Mother's Day

It was May 12, 2024 such a wonderful day, Mother’s Day in fact. My husband and I had just parted ways from an amazing dinner to celebrate the mothers of our family.

Soon after we arrived home I received an alarming call from my sister, she was distraught and incomprehensible. I tried to calm her enough so that I could understand what was being said, now reflecting I almost wish I didn’t not have to receive such terrible news, she cried out that her home was on fire. She lost everything.

My sister, whose name is Sha is a single mother of my autistic nephew Kratos. Everything she and Kratos owned perished in the fire. Perhaps one of the most devastating aspects of this trauma is that children who are autistic (though it is a spectrum)tend not to adjust well to even the smallest of changes. As my sister recounted those first moments of discovering her home engulfed in flames she tearfully recalled how Kratos hysterically screamed “my house is on fire, my house is on fire” with tears streaming down his face. One of the hardest things a mother faces is not being able to comfort her child in pain, especially when that pain is accompanied by loss and the unknown.

As we sat and listed the items that were lost and would need to be replaced we soon realized that the cost to replenish everything was more than expected. To cover temporary housing, clothing, food, toiletries and some key items of necessity Sha would need upwards of $20,000. I have seen miracles happen through crowdfunding platforms like GoFund Me and I’m hoping nothing short of such a miracle for my sister. She’s been an integral part of all of our lives and of those who love her; she has raised children before she had her own; she is a Pilar of our family and her chosen community. Let’s show her that she will not be passed by in her time of great need. Please donate what you can and share this with your community so that they too can contribute.