The West Seattle Herald was contacted by Southwest Youth and Family Services yesterday Oct. 27 regarding the Cambodian family scarred by the violence of the murder suicide that took place in White Center Sep. 23. They have reported that the money assessed by the family's landlord for damages has been raised.

"THANK YOU to everyone who is helping the family! SWYFS is beyond lucky to have such a loving community. We have raised the $1800 thanks to you and are now using the remaining money to help cover the costs of moving. They will be moving into two separate households if all goes as planned and will need deposit money, moving help and whatever gently used household items you might have. Does anyone know of a good storage company here in West Seattle? We could really use a small space to store the donations until they move into permanent housing. Thank you for all you do to help SWYFS make the community safer and supported!

Best, Cara

Cara Kroenke
Fundraising Director
Southwest Youth and Family Services
4555 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, WA 98106
ph: 206/937-7680
fax: 206/935-9967
www.swyfs.org

Here's our original story:
The after effects of violent crime often go unreported. As people attempt to rebuild shattered lives and homes they turn to those who are best equipped to help them. The murder suicide that took place near White Center on Sept 23 claimed more than four lives. In its wake the lives of the surviving Phan/Harm family have been thrown into disarray.

The landlord for the family is demanding $1800 in damages be paid because most of the furniture was bloodstained and many household items were destroyed by gunshots.

Cara Kroenke, Special Events and Fund Raising Director of the Southwest Youth and Family Services (SWYFS) sent a letter today to 2500 people appealing for help. Friends, supporters and community members were asked to come together to help the Phan/Harm family. SWYFS has become the primary agency working to assist them.

SWYFS has a family center and they have a Cambodian advocate. She went to visit the family to offer her help and a few days later she did a followup call. That was the only followup call the family received from any agency. This led the family to visit two weeks ago for the first time. "In speaking with the daughter, "said Kroenke," she said she was laying on the couch with a fever when her grandmother tried to shoot her. She wasn't successful because there weren't bullets. This kid was in our office and talking to me. She was able to laugh. We talked about her earrings and she told me about her backpack which she thinks is ugly, her favorite colors. We were able to talk about things she is interested in as a 7 year old."

"We became aware that we were working with this family and it just struck my heart. We originally thought we could help them with the 'Giving Tree' we do every year for the holidays(...) but when I sat down to talk to the family today, with the grandfather and the uncle and the daughter it came to me that they need much more than a new pair of socks. So I was aware of the reimbursement money that was due and I talked to a friend about doing a fundraiser but her calendar is way too full, so I wrote a letter."

Kroenke's letter follows:

Dear Friend,
I'd like to share with you and experience that I just had. At 11:00 this morning, I met with the surviving members of the family that was massacred in West Seattle. If you need the background story, I enclosed two article links below.

To summarize, the grandmother of the Phan/Harm family, who lived through the genocidal Khmer Rouge attacks of Cambodia PTSD, went off of her medication that helped her deal with her PTSD and fatally shot five members of her family in West Seattle. Her youngest grandchild, Nivia, age 7, was home from school day with a 101 degree fever and witnessed the killings of her father, two sisters(one of whom was pregnant) and the shooting of her mother,Thyda. Grandmother then tried to shoot Nivia, but she ran out of bullets and while she was reloading, Nivia's 17 year old brother, Kevin, grabbed Nivia and threw her out the window, he then fled himself. As this was happening, grandfather was coming home and heard the final shots as he opened the door, he saw the grandmother take her own life.

They were here at the agency today because they need help. They need counseling, community, love and financial support.

Please join me in contributing what you can; the family is in desperate need of $1800 to pay for the repairs that their landlord is charging them for the damages. Because most of their furniture was bloodstained, or worse, they need furniture and mattresses. The missed shots destroyed many household items as well, so glasses, pots, pillows, etc. would be greatly appreciated too.

The mother is still healing from her gunshot wounds and cannot work. The surviving family is in great need of emotional support, which they will receive from counselors at SWYFS, but they need the basics taken care of, including the $1800 debt, in order to start the healing process, so please if you can donate any money, do. If you would rather support the family with a Safeway or Albertson's gift card, they greatly need money for food as well. Or, if you have any gently used household items, they would be appreciated as well.

The Phan/Harm family are currently living in temporary housing, but we are working with them to find permanent housing near the children's schools.

I was able to spend time with Nivia today and we were able to talk about some of her favorite things; stuffed animals, Barbie, movies and books. She would very much like to read the The Magic Treehouse series and is going to be a cat for Halloween. I looked into her eyes and saw joy there; she is very resilient. She was even able to laugh a bit, but told me she can not sleep because she has nightmares; and wasn't at school today because when she is able to sleep it is on the floor and that that is very uncomfortable and her mother wanted her to get her rest today.

Please keep her and her family in your prayers or thoughts.

Below is a link where you can make a donation. My goal is to raise/have pledges for the whole $1800 by end of day tomorrow. Please work with me so that this can happen for the family. Feel free to call me with questions, or come by the agency to drop off any donations. If you would like to send in a check, a gift card to the grocery store or a letter of encouragement/support, please mail it to:

SWYFS
Attention: Phan/Harm family support
4555 Delridge Way SW
Seattle, WA 98106

Many thanks for rallying with us for the Phan/Harm Family.
Yours,
Cara

For your records, our tax ID # is:911-17862
Donate here link: http://swyfs.org/support_us/