Family of 9 displaced in Alabama fire now homeless in California

VICTORVILLE, Calif. - In a cramped Victorville motel room, Rita Zadsden manages to keep her seven grandchildren entertained. Her adult son RJ has autism and is recovering from severe burns after saving the family from a house fire that happened two months ago.

The Oct. 2023 house fire happened in Birmingham, Alabama, where Zadsden was taking care of the family with her husband – until he died from COVID-19 complications. The fire destroyed the family’s home, prompting Rita to move the family to Victorville where she has a relative in the area.

After realizing the Victorville relative’s home isn’t big enough to house everyone, Zadsden is now at a motel and in danger of being homeless.

That’s when the local community group "Victorville Community Helping Hands" stepped in.

"Ms. Rita" and her family is in need of a home for the holidays as their motel voucher is just hours from expiring December 18. PHOTO: GoFundMe

"We managed to get the county to help out with a voucher and get them a hotel room," said group organizer Jeannette Mejia.

With donations, she has been able to get the family food, clothing and even some Christmas gifts for the kids. However, the county-backed housing voucher is about to run out and they can’t find a shelter that will keep grandma, the grandchildren and her adult son together.

"We have to stay together, and get through this together," Zadsden said, fighting back tears. "We just need a safe place to stay for a while."

"We need a Christmas angel," Mejia said.

Mejia adds the family can’t afford the model and the voucher runs out Tuesday at checkout time.

Those looking to help the Zadsden family through Victorville Community Helping Hands can click here for more information. There is also a GoFundMe page launched to help the family.