How To Help Amarillo Family Support Services After Massive Fire

• GoFundMe: https://www.gofundme.com/f/family-support-services-fire-relief
• Immediate needs: Laptops, technology items, & money to start purchasing office equipment needs.
• Lists of updated items and new ways to donate will be coming in the next few days as they continue to asses the damage and their operating needs.

If you were on social media Sunday morning, you undoubtedly saw the massive fire that was roaring in downtown Amarillo. We quickly learned that the building that was ablaze was that of Amarillo's Family Support Services. FSS was founded in 1908 by a group of Amarillo businessmen who were inspired to start the organization (then called Associated Charities) by the suffering men, women, and children they saw who did not have any other resources for assistance or healing. Today, FSS serves over 25,000 people each year, including victims of sexual assault, family violence, and human trafficking; at-risk children, families, and individuals; people in need of individual, group, marital, and family counseling; and veterans, family members of veterans, and surviving spouses.

Let's start with the good news. All the staff and residents of the Safe House are safe and their were no injuries reported due to the fire. The crisis hotlines are still in operation and the FSS team is working with the resources they have left and that did not burn in the fire. However, the Veterans Resource Center, Behavioral Health and Wellness Department, Crisis Services Department, and Education and Prevention Department have all been completely destroyed by the fire. The estimated damage according to the Amarillo Fire Department is $800,000.