Community Bands Together To Help Overwhelmed Teen Homeowner After Mother's Sudden Passing

Dec 17, 2021 by apost team

Losing a parent is already a devastating event, but the situation can be made worse when you are left with an overwhelming responsibility, like getting a house repaired. Mackenzie Sorenson from Sacramento, California, lost her mother, Lisa, in 2021 after she suffered a brain aneurysm. Lisa was the owner of their home, and it was then passed onto almost 19-year-old Mackenzie after she died. The home is in disrepair, and now the teen girl is overwhelmed with the sudden responsibility.

The girl’s neighbor, Jeff Osuna, is a firefighter who had agreed to help Lisa with repairs before her passing. Osuna said that Lisa was always kind and helpful, often bringing in his trash cans when he was out of town. He agreed to help repair their bathroom, which had become unusable due to plumbing issues. Osuna went to see the home after Lisa passed and was shocked to see the state of the house Mackenzie was living in.

Osuna shared that the lighting and electrical in the bathroom and house needed to be repaired. He added that the other tasks like the bathroom demolition, carpet removal and house cleaning just required manpower. The same is true for the tasks outside, like raking leaves and cleaning out the gutters. Fortunately for Mackenzie and Osuna, the community has banded together to donate their time and resources to help.  

Several of Osuna’s fellow firefighters — along with neighbors and other community members — showed up to help with the repairs. Mackenzie was incredibly touched by the outpouring of support. Read on to learn more about this heartwarming story.

The firefighter was shocked when he saw how much work needed to be done on the house. “Just walking into the house seeing the situation that this young 19-year-old girl was living in, it was daunting,” Osuna told CBS Sacramento. Mackenzie said she had been overwhelmed since inheriting the home.

Lisa was an incredible woman, and she is sorely missed by her family and neighbors. “She would talk to everybody, that was my mom. And I was the quiet daughter she would help bring out of my shell. I miss her so much,” Mackenzie said.

Osuna added: “Her mother was a very sweet, sweet woman. She’d come out and greet us all the time. She’d pull in our garbage cans when we were gone.”

When the community came together to help Mackenzie, it showed that she was not alone. “It’s an amazing feeling. I was not expecting the whole community to come together and help me,” Mackenzie said. “I’m just super grateful, I’m overwhelmingly grateful.”

Osuna was also moved by the way people gave their time, money and resources. “It brought tears to my eyes when they said we’re here because it’s a good thing and I thought it was too,” Osuna said. The firefighter also set up a donations page so Mackenzie could finish the repairs on the home.

Mackenzie is sure that if her mom could see her now she would be touched by the support from the community. The teenage girl shared: “She would just be very happy that her daughter has people taking care of her even when she’s not here.”

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