Miami-Dade

Frontline Nurses Get New Apartment After Home Destroyed in Fire

NBCUniversal, Inc.

A community came together to help two nurses and their family after their southwest Miami-Dade home was destroyed in a fire.

Last week, the Apathy family was out eating dinner at a relative's home when the fire happened. Their dog, Mack, died.

Ayleen and Ryan Apathy, both nurses at Mercy Hospital, have been been dealing with pandemic on the front lines. They explained to NBC 6 this blow was hitting especially hard during an already difficult year.

But thanks to the generosity of a local teen, the family has a new place to call home.

Steven Ferreiro saw the family's story on the news and on social media. 

"I couldn’t imagine what they’ve been dealing with, working this pandemic and having nowhere to go home," he said.

From fighting the pandemic on the front lines, to losing everything their own - two local nurses are dealing with tremendous loss. NBC 6's Stephanie Bertini reports.

The teenager has been on NBC 6 before when he helped a 10-year-old dealing with food insecurity during our Helping Hands series. The young man has a non-profit called Helping Others and Giving Hope. Through it, he connected with a local residential developer to help this family.

"We build workforce housing," said Alex Ballina of AHS Residential. "We believe in our community ... especially frontline employees that have been working to keep our community going."

AHS residential wanted to help this family get back on their feet. Along with a new apartment, they gave the family three months rent free.

The family has been living with a relative — now they can return to having their own space and focus on what’s ahead.

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