Two homeworkers have launched a GoFundMe campaign to provide financial support for a colleague made homeless after a blaze broke out during a kitchen renovation.
One Travel Club agent Emma Morris and her family have had to move out of their home near Reading because of damage caused by the fire, which happened 10 days ago.
Emma, her husband and 12-year-old son stayed in a hotel for the first week, then moved to an Airbnb, but dwindling funds mean they have no choice but to have to move back to the house at the end of this week, even though they’ve been told it’s not currently safe to live there because of toxins caused by the fire.
Emma fears that, even if an insurance claim is successful – she and her husband are battling with their own insurance company and that of the workman doing the renovation – it could take weeks or months for money to come through.
Colleagues Lyndsay Price and Emma Ross set up the GoFundMe page, so far raising around £900, which has paid for this week’s Airbnb.
Emma Ross told Travel Gossip: “Emma was asking for accommodation ideas on our team page and saying the insurance companies were in dispute, so we wanted to do something to try and alleviate some stress for her, her husband and their son. Emma is having to find and fund alternative accommodations for her family while this awful mess is sorted out.”
The family has lived in the house in Spencers Wood, near Reading, for three and a half years, and the kitchen was the last room to be renovated. While work was being done, items had been moved to an annex, where the fire broke out.
Emma Morris, also known as Emma Brighty, said: “We were gobsmacked by the kind gesture by my colleagues and truly overwhelmed by the kindness and generosity from everyone. The fire is devastating and the wait from insurance companies to decide our fate is unbearable. We’re currently homeless.
“The money raised so far has covered us for this week but we don’t know how much we are going to have to spend going forward. It could take weeks for the fire to be investigate, so we could be talking a few months before things get sorted.”
Donate to the GoFundMe campaign here.
