Adin Live - January 10, 2025Donating $100,000 To Los Angeles Fire Victims
Episode Stats
Words per Minute
221.99628
Summary
In this episode, I speak with a firefighter who lost everything in a massive fire. He shares his story and how he was able to escape the flames and save so many lives. He is a true hero and I am so grateful for him.
Transcript
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We got you now? I got you now, sir. How you doing? How are you, sir? I'm good, man. How are you doing?
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Been better. Been better. I'm getting better day by day. Yeah. I want to know what's going on right
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now. You know, I had someone in my team reached out. I purposely didn't want to know anything
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about your story because I wanted to hear for the first time and know, obviously, what's going on
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with you. And, you know, obviously, I know you're a firefighter. I do want to say thank you so much
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for putting your life on the line, you know, to aid other people's lives. And, you know,
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you're a true hero, man. And I just wanted to say I appreciate you for that. But I wanted to know
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kind of what's going on. What's going on with my life or what happened with the fire? Ask me
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anything. Well, I want to know. I just want to know. Yeah. What's happened with the fires and
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what happened with you? With me? I became a firefighter at like really late age. I grew up
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in Poland. I was born in Poland, came here like with no money completely. I grew up with my mom
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and my dad and I had a bunch of odd jobs. And just one day changed my life. And I just want to become
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a firefighter. I changed my life when when my when my dad got sick and that kind of like completely
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changed my life. And I went back to school and I became a firefighter at the age of 48, if you believe
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it or not. Wow. I went to Academy and I became a firefighter. This is like the greatest job ever.
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And I've been loving since the day one. And what happened with me, the fire, if you don't know
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anything about a fire, you know, I'm usually the guy who's, you know, putting out fires. I'm not the guy,
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the victim, you know, so it's very weird. It's very different. When, you know, it happened, the fire
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happened on the 7th, almost like two days ago, we were I was supposed to go back to work the
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following day, I was supposed to cook for my chef for my crew. I went shopping, I took my baby,
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I have my 17 year old son, my wife, and we went shopping, we went to the park, I cooked about a
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bunch of food because I was supposed to cook for them, we were heading back home. And then I got a
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text from my neighbor that it's evacuation, our name of a whole place is, you know, people are
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leaving, it's chaos. And so we were driving, just chaos people, you know, fire department,
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fire engines and police and people going back and Ford, no electricity, because we lost power the
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day before high winds. So we barely made it home. And it was just chaos. Like you could see the fire
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in the mountains. So my wife, you know, she, she jumped out, I stayed with a baby because the baby
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was sleeping. She went inside the house and she was just packing anything, you know, like passports,
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food for our dogs, because we have two dogs, diapers, anything that she could grab, you know,
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because we kind of knew the fire is going to be at any minute, you know, can you I was with a baby.
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Sorry, sorry. Can you can you show your house right now?
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Um, yeah, I actually went over there today. I kind of like a walk through. And it was just
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everything's gone. I sent your friend a picture and a video. Oh, yeah, and I just everything's level,
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like everything's torched. Like if you don't know anything about Altadena, you know, Altadena is one
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of those communities. It's kind of like from like 1950s, like Leave it to Beaver. I don't know if you
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ever seen that show, but it's like white fence, green grass, beautiful homes, everybody knows each
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other, but nobody knows about a community because it's kind of like a secret. It's like close to the
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mountains, like, but it's a beautiful place to live. And what's the beauty about Altadena is just like
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everybody knows each other. Everybody's friends, you know? Right. So that's like the really the
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hardest part of it, like lose my friends because like every every house has gotten on the block.
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Every house is gone. Businesses are burned. Yeah. So going back to the story, when when my wife was
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packing, you know, she was done and we were about leaving. So it was 9 p.m. just winds blowing. You
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can see the fire. It was chaos. And I stay behind. You know, I'm like I'm a firefighter. I want to stay
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behind. Save my house. And I say to my wife, I'm just going to follow you. You go. I'm going to
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follow you. Don't worry about me. So I stay behind. And all I had is garden hoses. Like I had a house
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in the backyard. I had two hoses in the front yard and I'm just putting water. Water just soaked my
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house. That's crazy. As much as I could. I stayed until and just when it was just picking up and picking
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up, it was just chaos. So I stayed until about 11 ish. And then it was just getting dark, even more
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wind. And I would just see this black smoke, which means there's a house on fire probably like a block
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away. Wow. And I couldn't see anything, you know, so I'm like, OK, I think it's time to leave. So I
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jumped to my car and I have my two cats in the back of my car. I didn't even grab anything from my house
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because I was trying to save my house. It's, you know, as a firefighter, that's what I want to do. Save my
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house. So I jumped into my car and I just slowly drove away, like not knowing that I probably never
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going to see my house again, you know, hoping. So I drove back and we were happy that we were
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crashing in our friend's house, apartments. So lucky that we can stay there. Yeah. So I got there,
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just covered black face, everything, you know, just trying to explain my wife like everything is going
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to be OK because she was freaking out. Here's the house. And I didn't go to sleep that night. I just took a
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shower. I couldn't even sleep because it was so stressful. Like I've had some long nights.
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I've had some stressful nights, but that was like the longest and the most stressful night I've ever
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had. I was just laying in my bed thinking that my house might be burning like right now, you know,
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here's here's the video of it. And it's horrible. Yeah. I woke up in the morning. Oh, yeah. I didn't
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even sleep. Yeah. Are you are you so so let me ask you. So how that's your that's your house right
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now. It's completely burnt down. Yeah, it's yeah. Yeah. I know. I was I was just so let me I'm just
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curious. You don't have to obviously answer this, you know, publicly, but do you have to have like
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insurance? Like how does it work? Like is the yes, is the stake going to help you out a little bit for
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that? Yes. Yes, we do. We do. It wasn't, you know, California is almost impossible to get
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insurance these days. And if you get one, if you're lucky enough, it's really expensive. But you know,
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we still paying for insurance. So we are lucky. So we should get some money for it. We don't know how
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long it's going to take. We don't know how much money my neighbor next door, no insurance, my neighbor,
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another one like black away, no insurance. So they lost everything. They lost everything.
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They have no place to live. They have no insurance. They're not going to get any money. So it just
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depends, you know, I was so so so I've been looking for a lot of people that are in need, obviously. And
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you know, you tell me that, you know, your neighbors, you know, they lost everything. I would
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love to help them as well. If you can have your friend or you guys connect me to your neighbors,
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because, you know, I feel horrible about the situation. I lived in LA. I have so much love for LA,
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the people of California, you know, I grew up there. And it's super sad. And you know,
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especially you, you know, you're, you're a firefighter. And, you know, your own house burnt
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down protecting, you know, other people's, you know, lives. And I have so much respect for people
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like you, man, like I said, you're a hero, you, you do so much for this world. And I just feel like
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you're you and the people that actually, you know, save this world, you guys are undervalued in many
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ways. And sometimes I feel like you guys get, you know, undervalued. Yeah. So it's like you guys are
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mistreated. So with that being said, man, I do want to help you. I do want to bless you.
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And if you have your neighbors that you can connect me with as well, it doesn't even have to be on
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stream. It could be off stream as well. You can connect my manager with whatever it is. I would
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love to help your people as well. I think it's a really fucked up situation. I hope it's better.
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I wanted to ask you, sir, has it gotten better? Have the fire has gotten better at all?
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Yes, the fire right now, it moves like all the way to the top of the mile. Yeah. I mean,
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I drove today the first time walk through my wife. She was completely devastated. Like we went
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through our home and you can see, oh, this is the place where I, you know, I love my job as a
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firefighter, but there's no play. There's no better feeling than coming home to my wife every like
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after 48 hours. That's my favorite thing. When I go home to my house, to my wife, to my kid,
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that thing is gone. When I went walk through today, you can see that just like a giant hole,
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like somebody just ripped everything, all the guts from my house and just threw it away. Like I could
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see my TV, my favorite sofa. I could see my boy's room while I used to, you know, put him to sleep
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or like sing him a song. Everything is gone. And it's just like, it's unbelievable. Like, you know,
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all the memories, everything is gone. Like I told you, I came from Poland. I had nothing. I don't care
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what kind of shoes I wear or pants I wear, but I've always want to have a house. It's like,
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it was my dream. And now that one dream is just gone, you know, try to, but I'm trying to stay
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positive. I have a lot of good friends. I have a lot of good firefighters. Everyone is texting me.
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What do you need? What do you need? I am surrounded with amazing people. I know it sucks right now.
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I know it's hard, but I know it's going to get better. You know, like I know I'm going to wake up
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tomorrow and I know that tomorrow is going to bring me a better day. I just know that, you know,
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because I'm surrounded with these amazing people. They try to help me, you know? Well, well, I just
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want to tell you this and I'll say this to you. So, um, I don't know if you know who I am, uh, but a
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little bit to kind of just a little 10 seconds, you know, I, I, I stream, I live stream, um, and I'm on
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this platform called kick. And I spoke with kick and, um, you know, kick and I want to put together
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$50,000 for you and your family for the relief, um, for, uh, yeah, man. Uh, you know, we want to
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put that together for you, man. We want to get that money to instantly. And, uh, you know, God
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bless you and your family, man, you know, your family, man. And I, and I respect that, you know,
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I respect you because all you want to do is get home to your wife after a hard work at, you know,
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doing with your fires, man. And, uh, you know, honestly, like it really makes me emotional as well,
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man. Like you, I can already tell you're, you're, you're a hero. You're a legit hero. I'm sure your,
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your son looks up to you and your, your wife is all you want to come home to, man. So, uh,
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kick and I are going to get you $50,000 for you and your family.
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This is unbelievable. I mean, like I was driving, I had no idea. Like, you know, like I, my son has
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like, I just, I just want to, I don't care what I wear. You know, I just want to make sure my son
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is fat and he wears a clean diaper and clothes and he has a place to sleep. That's all I care right
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now about, you know, I'm sure that it's just somebody, yeah. I just, thank you so much. You know,
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like, of course, thank you so much. Of course. I'm, um, I'm, I'm, um, I'm heading that way.
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I'm heading down to, uh, Las Vegas. I know California is not that far away. If there's
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ever, you know, uh, uh, I know you're, you're slammed right now with what you got going on
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and maybe it's not the best time now, but eventually I would love to meet up with you
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in person, man, meet your family. And, um, and like I said, I don't have to live stream this at all.
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I just want to speak to you guys and you know, I just want to get to know you, man. But, uh,
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yeah, man, leave this with me. Uh, the platform kick and myself, we're going to put together $50,000
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for you and your family. Leave that with us. Yeah. We'll have that to you quickly. I, and look,
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I know insurance is going to take a long time and, you know, to figure something out and you
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probably won't even get it in full, but just know that, uh, you're going to get this money as soon
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as possible, uh, for me. And, um, I will make sure that you're, uh, you're taken care of in your
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family, man. Thank you so much. Um, I, I'm, uh, I'm, I'm, I'm speechless. Thank you.
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Your wife's right there. My wife, yeah. My wife is outside with the baby. Um, yeah. Um,
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thank you. Um, yeah. Cause right now we are homeless. We have no place to live and
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the money is going to be, we're not going to be homeless, you know? Thank you so much.
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Of course, man. And, uh, you know, just like have your boy, have your guy reach out to me
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whenever my, my manager, Tom, and, uh, I'll make sure you guys get situated. Yeah. Yeah.
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We're going to go outside and introduce you to the family. Okay. Yeah. My wife is very shy.
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I apologize, but that is my boy over there. Yeah. Thank you, sir. Thank you. Thank you.
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Of course. Okay. Thank you so much. He's been through a lot, but he's a good boy. He's a good
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boy. That's my wife. Thank you so much. Hello. God bless you. Uh, the wife, I, uh, I was telling
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your, uh, your amazing husband, who's the biggest hero. I got, I'm going to be giving
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you and your husband $50,000 for the fires. Um, thank you so much. You're very welcome.
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God bless you guys. I hope you guys stay safe and, uh, I I'll be in touch with you guys.
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And, uh, you guys are amazing. Just keep, keep shining. Thank you. I know it's going to get
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better. I know it's, it's tough right now, but it's going to get better. I know. God bless
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you. God bless America. Thank you. God bless America. Exactly. All right, guys, you have an
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amazing rest of your night. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. It's just fucked up, bro.
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Look at this. Look at this fucking house, bro. Look at this shit. This is crazy. How long does it
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take for a, uh, a fire to even get like, or a house to get like this from a fire? That's what I want
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to know. I hear him speaking. Yeah. That's fucking crazy. It pop. How long, chat, how long does it take
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to even get money? How long does it even take, how long does it even take to get the money for
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the, from the insurance company? And most people don't even have insurance, fire insurance on their
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houses. Months. So guys, there is another story. I'm waiting to see if Toph can get ahold of this
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person for me. Let me just, uh, let me explain to you guys the story real quick. I'm just going to
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read this. This one touched my heart. Um, again, guys, uh, I'm looking for you guys' stories. I, I'm
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going to get access to this email and I'm going to look through the shit at my own time when I'm not
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streaming and shit. And again, what really motivated me to do this is Drake. Um, so I have
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this story for you guys I want to read and this really touched my heart. Toph, you can get her on,
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uh, whether she wants to do it on stream, off stream. I don't care. I want to, I want to choose
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to bless her. I'm going to read you guys her story. Um, Priz, I'm going to send you, um, I'm going to
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just send you these documents for you to just send in discord so I can show the chat. Again, guys,
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I want to do like at least one of these, a stream. Um, just making the world better, bro.
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Whatever I can do. Hope you're well. And I hope this email raises you. I wasn't sure if my other
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email went through. I'm a big fan of your work. Last night I watched the kick stream with you and
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Drake and I felt drawn to reach out again in hopes of a miracle. I don't want to lose hope. My name
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is joy and I'm a single mom of two young boys, ages of five and seven living in New Jersey.
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My kids and I are at risk of being evicted next week. I sent in my story to the rent giveaway.
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And even though I wasn't picked last night, I was happy for all the winners. I want to see if there's a
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chance that you can help me a little backstory. I left the toxic and abusive marriage two years ago.
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I almost came from an abusive trauma filled broken home, but overcame all the odds,
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got therapy and took the steps to kill from depression and anxiety that threatened to break
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me. I thank God that I was strong enough to walk away from domestic violence in my marriage before
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it was defeated me. I am truly a survivor. I lost my job several months ago when the company that I
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worked for went out of business. Around this time I was physically injured and hurt from my foot badly,
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affecting my workability. I'm still feeling the pain of that injury each day, but trying to push
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on as best I can. Last month I was finally able to get a new full-time job working at a special needs
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school. And I'm so grateful for this. But because I was out of work several months, I am full behind
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on my rent. I have until January blank to pay my rent and the balance is $13,000 or my kids and I
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will be evicted. I attached the court documents in two pages of the warrant of removal. I'm so scared
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but leaning on faith. I've never been in this situation before and I feel very defeated, especially
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because I'm also dealing with a physical injury that she suffered from her abusive ex-marriage.
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The warrant of removal says this day, both of my son's birthdays are in early January and my oldest
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turns eight years old and my youngest turns six. The timing of this is extremely heartbreaking and
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unsettling. I need to remain in a stable home for myself and kids, especially here in New Jersey,
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when the temperature has been freezing cold and snowy. This apartment is all we know and has been there
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for us in the darkest times these past two years as a single mom. This apartment is the only one
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we've lived in that is safe and has a good environment for my kids. Also, my youngest son
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currently needs to be screened for autism after having a series of severe behavioral issues at
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school and now he's at risk of being kicked out of school. I want to be able to put all my energy
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into getting him better while not having to worry about losing my apartment. I really need help and
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I appreciate you reading this. I would appreciate any help at all. I've never reached out for anything
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like this but I know I had to try. After going through this, my hope one day is to help another
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single mom in need so she never has to feel the way I feel at this moment. This has been
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devastating for us to go through during the holidays but I hope you can help me and my sons
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save my apartment and then I'll show you guys the picture of her and her kids and I wanted to see
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if we can get her on a stream right now. Priz, did you send her through Discord? Just send the
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Priz, just let me see if I could show that picture.
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I don't want to show her actual document of her saying that she's going to be evicted.
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the court documents. That's just not what I'm going to do.
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And one thing I will say this, bro, is it's like this.
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out there that work harder than we can ever know and I pray
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shining through this all. This is her and her two kids
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and she's about to get evicted. And I'm not going to leak
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the court document, of course, but I would love
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I want to pay her rent and I'll make sure she has money
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And the really thing that touched my heart for this story
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And, you know, guys, that's sometimes so hard to do.
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what really touched my heart about her story is
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If I can help her out and she helps somebody else out,
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that's making a difference. Like I said, all it takes is one person.
00:20:02.780
some people that want to go through these stories