Three Generations Lost Their Home
Donation protected
Yesterday morning, on Monday, November 16, 2020, Scott was awoken by screaming coming from the street outside of my home in New Orleans. He looked outside and saw flames shooting up from the home across the street from mine. We could hear the children that live there screaming for their grandmother.
The house across the street is home to three generations of an African American New Orleans family that have been living in the home for decades (at least four). There is a grandmother, her son and five children that live mainly in the home (ranging from very young to early 20's). We have known then for nearly the entire lives of the children and since they lost their mother (the gentleman's sister) many years ago. They are a wonderful family and Grandma takes care of the kids while her son earns a living. The kids have always called Scott "Mr. Scott" and Beth "Miss Beth" and are smart, respectful and friendly to all in our neighborhood. This family is far from wealthy and clearly struggle to care for each other as best they can. Grandma's son cares for our whole block and is the guy that cuts the grass around here and cleans out our storm drains. Our whole block knows and cares for them deeply. They are what the fabric of New Orleans is and should be.
We raced outside and found the children outside screaming and crying that their grandmother was trapped inside. A kind jogger passing by (Christian) was getting to the neighbor's yard as we were. He broke the window Grandma was behind as Scott assembled a crude way to stand up at the level of the home to get Grandma out of the home. Together, this amazing passerby and Scott were barely able get her out of the window and across a fence to get Grandma safely out of the house before the smoke overcame the room she was in and we got her and the children to safety. The fire department arrived and began working on the house and as they broke down the door, the entire right side of the home was engulfed in flames and thick black smoke. That side of the home is a burnt shell now and the other side is not much better off.
This family could not afford insurance on the home and their taxes were just raised significantly. They already faced deferred maintenance issues and were facing a tough economy. This fire resulted in severe damages and the need to repair a significant amount of fire damage that will likely need them to bring many systems of their home up to code. We are appealing to ALL that see this to help us help them get back into their home.
We are trying to raise $25,000 for them because we think that will be a great start to get them back in their home, but we hope to help them raise much more. The picture above is a simple sign of the significant damages inside the home (that we will not go back into until I know it is safe). Any other help from building materials to labor help to whatever people can assist with will be welcomed for this proud family who has, until now, worked very hard to "take care of their own." We hope it is NOLA can now take care of their own as well. Please consider helping this wonderful family that has ALWAYS lent a hand if needed, extended a smile and a "hello" to their "block family" and are most assuredly in deep need and without options.
In closing, we choose to keep them anonymous for them because some of them are minors and all are VERY traumatized by the incident. They have encountered so much loss in their lives, Beth and I would like to help try and fix this one with them. We are happy to speak and engage with ANYONE who might consider the need to dig deeper and find out more about them to help.
Thank you and at this time when things are difficult for many, we understand if you cannot help. Many of you already join us on our other fund raising events annually and we thank you for that. However, this one is truly an ask for our community.
Scott and Beth Galante
Bouligny West Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana
The house across the street is home to three generations of an African American New Orleans family that have been living in the home for decades (at least four). There is a grandmother, her son and five children that live mainly in the home (ranging from very young to early 20's). We have known then for nearly the entire lives of the children and since they lost their mother (the gentleman's sister) many years ago. They are a wonderful family and Grandma takes care of the kids while her son earns a living. The kids have always called Scott "Mr. Scott" and Beth "Miss Beth" and are smart, respectful and friendly to all in our neighborhood. This family is far from wealthy and clearly struggle to care for each other as best they can. Grandma's son cares for our whole block and is the guy that cuts the grass around here and cleans out our storm drains. Our whole block knows and cares for them deeply. They are what the fabric of New Orleans is and should be.
We raced outside and found the children outside screaming and crying that their grandmother was trapped inside. A kind jogger passing by (Christian) was getting to the neighbor's yard as we were. He broke the window Grandma was behind as Scott assembled a crude way to stand up at the level of the home to get Grandma out of the home. Together, this amazing passerby and Scott were barely able get her out of the window and across a fence to get Grandma safely out of the house before the smoke overcame the room she was in and we got her and the children to safety. The fire department arrived and began working on the house and as they broke down the door, the entire right side of the home was engulfed in flames and thick black smoke. That side of the home is a burnt shell now and the other side is not much better off.
This family could not afford insurance on the home and their taxes were just raised significantly. They already faced deferred maintenance issues and were facing a tough economy. This fire resulted in severe damages and the need to repair a significant amount of fire damage that will likely need them to bring many systems of their home up to code. We are appealing to ALL that see this to help us help them get back into their home.
We are trying to raise $25,000 for them because we think that will be a great start to get them back in their home, but we hope to help them raise much more. The picture above is a simple sign of the significant damages inside the home (that we will not go back into until I know it is safe). Any other help from building materials to labor help to whatever people can assist with will be welcomed for this proud family who has, until now, worked very hard to "take care of their own." We hope it is NOLA can now take care of their own as well. Please consider helping this wonderful family that has ALWAYS lent a hand if needed, extended a smile and a "hello" to their "block family" and are most assuredly in deep need and without options.
In closing, we choose to keep them anonymous for them because some of them are minors and all are VERY traumatized by the incident. They have encountered so much loss in their lives, Beth and I would like to help try and fix this one with them. We are happy to speak and engage with ANYONE who might consider the need to dig deeper and find out more about them to help.
Thank you and at this time when things are difficult for many, we understand if you cannot help. Many of you already join us on our other fund raising events annually and we thank you for that. However, this one is truly an ask for our community.
Scott and Beth Galante
Bouligny West Riverside
New Orleans, Louisiana
Organizer and beneficiary
Scott Galante
Organizer
New Orleans, LA
MIchael Brazile
Beneficiary