TARPON SPRINGS, FL. – As storms rolled through the Tampa Bay area on Sunday, lightning strikes pounded some neighborhoods, and houses.
One Tarpon Springs homeowner and family took a direct hit and lost it all.
The Stephenson Family, Adam, Kailyn, Asher, and Ezra, escaped their home unharmed after lightning hit the roof of their home, sparking a fire in the attic
“We’re rummaging through the contents of our home to determine what can be salvaged versus tossed,” said Kailyn Stephenson.
To make matters worse, COVID-19 caused a financial setback for the Stephenson’s and their homeowner’s insurance lapsed.
“A horrible situation is made worse, in that due to loss of income last year and financial struggles, our insurance unfortunately lapsed and we have no coverage. This was something we were in the works of acquiring as our financial situation was improving, but too little too late,” said Stephensen in a Facebook post. “Our HOA covers the structural, but remediation and demolition, electric, plumbing, AC, kitchen & bathrooms, flooring, paint, etc will entirely fall on us.”
The Stephenson’s have compiled a list of immediate and future needs to get back on track:
Clothing & Shoes– we have high hopes that our clothes and shoes can be recovered through repeated washings and protocols, as they only sustained smoke and water damage. At this time, we would like to ask you to hold off on clothing donations until we know what we are working with, as we have so much to try to go through already, and very limited space.
Furniture– while we are 100% going to be desperately needing EVERYTHING including appliances, flooring, fixtures, etc, at the moment (and for the unforeseeable future) we have nowhere to keep anything. We will be without a home of our own until next year.
Toys– we are trying to salvage what we have of our children, and will absolutely be in need of donations in the future. Again, as we are displaced and staying with my mother, we are limited on space and we’re trying to be mindful and considerate of overrunning her home, though we’re welcomed with open arms.
Food– Such a tremendous blessing, but we don’t have any fridge space where we are staying and the deep freezer is full of breast milk that we rescued from our home. If we are able to find a way to accommodate meals and food donations,. If someone can donate and deliver a fridge to Hudson, this changes EVERYTHING.
Storage– If anyone has storage connections that can either significantly discount or donate a unit for us to store what we can keep, that would be incredible. Our (packed) garage was almost unscathed and we are desperately trying to salvage as much as possible. This will likely be 6-month storage.
Prayers– please continue to lift us up in prayer. This is unfathomable and my worst fear. Our 4-year-old is absolutely devastated and between the hit and run accident that totaled our car in May, and now this, I’m certain has trauma he will need to work through. Adam and I are also experiencing PTSD, which I can imagine is to be expected.
Financial– this is by far our greatest need. A horrible situation is made worse, in that due to loss of income last year and financial struggles, our insurance unfortunately lapsed and we have no coverage. This was something we were in the works of acquiring as our financial situation was improving, but too little too late. Our HOA covers the structural, but remediation and demolition, electric, plumbing, AC, kitchen & bathrooms, flooring, paint, etc will entirely fall on us.
Labor– in 6 months or so, if any licensed electricians, plumbers, ac techs, etc are willing to volunteer their time and services to help us reconstruct, we would be eternally grateful and forever indebted.
“We’re so grateful for the enormous outreach for tangible items,” said Stephenson.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Stephenson’s recover financially and you can help by clicking here.
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