As a lead outreach worker, Angie Brown knows just how difficult life can get when your living situation isn’t stable.
“Like when I’m not working, we still go out and help. So you know, like even my kids, they go. They are like, they grew up with me helping everybody. So even my grandchildren, they go out and they help. They’re like, I’ve got toques, I’ve got this, I’ve got that and everything. So it’s just, you know, open heart, open mind, non-judgmental. And if you feel the need, you don’t need to or have to ask, just do it.”
Angie and her family spend their lives helping others who struggle - but a recent fire and sewage flood in their family home has resulted in their own need for community support.
An incident during upsizing of a city sewer main caused the back up, which flooded the Brown’s home and caused an electrical fire as well.
Although everyone got out safe, the family has had to dispose of much of their belongings.
“So, you know, like, I really feel it right now because of what we’re going through, we’re getting rid of everything. And, you know, like that’s what we have. That’s what we own.”
A go fund me has been set up by a family member to help the Browns recover. And Brown says this situation has only increased her empathy for those she works with.
“So, like me this week, my family and that, like, it’s all lived experience. So you know exactly what they’re going through. And, you know, like we’ve been in their situation as well. So a lot of that is where the nonjudgmental part comes in.”
Funds raised will be put towards interim accommodations along with managing damage and replacing goods. The gofundme can be found here :Fundraiser for gerald a brown by Holly Harris : Urgent: Help Rebuild a Family of 11 After Fire & Flood