You may have seen it on the news locally in Fresno, but an apartment fire took everything from four Hmong families this summer. One of the victims of the fire walked into FIRM looking for any help possible and FIRM was quickly on the scene to meet the many pressing needs of each of the families we soon learned about. FIRM put together an action team that worked closely with the families to assess the needs and began to help these families pick up the pieces of their lives once again. Through donations from the community and local partnerships, FIRM was able to provide badly needed furniture, clothing, hygiene items, food, cooking supplies and more to these families. One heart-wrenching part of this story is that Yileng Xiong and his wife Ya Chang had their baby just four days after the fire (pictured with FIRM staff Phon Southisombath and Pakou Yang). Everything that they had planned for their child was lost in the fire and they were starting from scratch. FIRM was able to provide needed items for their new baby and have worked with the family to find them alternative suitable housing. We were so glad that we were there to help these families who would not have known where to get support without the efforts of FIRM! FIRM is still helping these families as they continue to restart their lives. If you would like to help these families through this tough time, please contact Program Manager, Lucky Siphongsay by e-mail or by phone at (559) 487-1509.