Teenager surprises front-line nurses with new home after fire
When 16-year-old Steven Ferreiro read about the fire that burned down a Southwest Miami-Dade family’s home, killing their pets and destroying the keepsakes that the couple and two children had collected over five years, he felt called into action.
“I had to do something,” Ferreiro, from Kendall, said. “The Apathys, they’re saving lives in the community, they’re doing so much for us.”
As Ryan and Ayleen Apathy — both COVID-19 frontline nurses at Mercy Hospital in Coconut Grove — stayed at a family member’s home and tried to get lives back together, Ferreiro worked with a local real estate company to find them a new place to call home.
On Friday, Ferreiro and South Florida real estate developer AHS Residential surprised the family with a two-bedroom apartment in the 9700 block of Southwest 152nd Street in Coral Reef, where the family will be staying free of charge for at least three months.
“That apartment was the first place we planned on looking at,” Ryan Apathy said. “We thought they were just showing us the apartment and then we saw the cameras and all these people coming in. It was very exciting.”
As the Apathys thanked Ferreiro and his parents for the “life changing” surprise, their two children, 5-yearold Ellis and 7-year-old Vaughn, explored the home, playing and hiding away in closets. Family members joined them for the celebrations.
“They were speechless,” Ferreiro said after the surprise. “I am really thankful to have had the opportunity to help.”
The family was at Ryan Apathy’s mother’s home on the evening of July 29 when they were called back to their house on Southwest 173rd Street, which was in flames. Their dog Mack and their children’s hamster died in the fire.
Miami Fire Rescue Investigators told the family that the fire started in the kitchen, possibly from an appliance. The interior of the house was destroyed, Ryan Apathy said.
The next day, a fellow nurse set up a GoFundMe page for the family, which Ferreiro happened to read just hours later. Friends and family had donated nearly $60,000 to the Apathys through that page Friday.
Ferreiro and his team at Helping Others and Giving Hope — a nonprofit he founded in September 2019 that works with churches, businesses, government agencies and charities to provide resources and food security to community members — contacted AHS Residential shortly afterwards.
The agency worked “at the speed of light” to find the apartment and provide three months of funding for the family, which they will extend further if needed, Ferreiro said.
“For months, the Apathy family has put their lives on the line to help our community fight the Coronavirus outbreak. Now, in their time of need, we want to ensure they have a place to call home,” AHS Residential President Ernesto Lopes said in a statement.