A potentially devastating fire at an apartment unit in Las Vegas later turned into a blessing for an expecting mother and her three young children.
Reesha Price, 29, and two of her children, were sleeping in an upstairs apartment unit on Dec. 18 when a fire broke out around 2 a.m. in the apartment below where the family was living.
Firefighters rushed to the scene and rescued Price, who was pregnant, and her two sons from the balcony. Price has a third son who was not in the apartment when the fire occurred.
The family escaped uninjured, but the blaze left them displaced just one week before Christmas day, until a local organization heard about the family’s ordeal and temporary living situation.
LoveLife Family Services (LLFS), a behavioral and mental health services provider in Las Vegas, surprised Price and her children on Dec. 22 with several Christmas gifts and covered six months of rent, including her electricity bill, at a new apartment unit. LLFS also fully furnished the unit after the family lost all of their possessions. Price was shocked and had no idea what was in store for her family that day, she said.
“I’m very thankful. I lost everything in the fire. Everything is pretty much gone and I’m very grateful for everything this community center is doing for us,” said Price.
Tyrone Thompson Assembly District 17 and LoveLife Family Service President and CEO Clevonne Funches
LLFS has provided social services for children, adults and seniors in the Las Vegas community since 2012. Clevonne Funches, president of LLFS, learned about the Price family’s situation after hearing about the fire. Funches said he was heartbroken when he discovered the family was living in a hotel room days before Christmas.
“Our organization prides itself on providing the tools people need to not only survive, but to thrive. Reesha Price is an amazing young woman caring for her three children. Once I understood her living situation just before Christmas, I knew we had to step in and offer this family support during the most family-oriented time of the year,” said Funches.
Price is now living in the new apartment unit with her family and feels relieved to not worry about her living expenses in the interim.
“Seeing the smiles on the faces of this family warmed my heart. It reaffirmed to me that LLFS is here because of the community. I wish Reesha and her family a happy start to 2017,” said Funches.
