Campers Care houses displaced families

GRETNA, Va. (WDBJ) - A Gretna-based nonprofit is helping a family after they lost their home in a house fire. Campers Care provides housing for people in times of need.

‘Not for a moment’ is the name of this trailer that has come to the rescue for Beth Doughty and her daughter Taylor Lassiter.

“They’re going to allow us to stay here on our property at our home for one year. We got water, power, anything we need,” Beth said.

Beth’s and Taylor’s house in Suffolk, Virginia caught on fire June 18 and has severe smoke damage. They say it will take about a year to rebuild. The American Red Cross helped the family at first, but it’s the Gretna-based nonprofit ministry, Campers Care, that has given them longer term housing and helped them avoid having to stay at a women’s shelter.

“We were really fortunate because Campers Care only had two trailers and we got one of them,” Beth said.

A vision from God led Devin Taylor and his family to start Campers Care in August 2020.

“God laid a vision on our hearts to begin. We love camping ... We actually use camping trailers, travel trailers, to supply temporary shelter to folks who lost their home, whether it be a physical, emotional or spiritual storm of life,” Taylor, the founder of Campers Care, said.

Now, Devin gets to help people like Beth and Taylor, who lost both of their dogs in the fire.

“They don’t even know us. They have been so nice, and I don’t even know how to describe it. You can’t say thank you enough,” Beth said.

Devin hopes to help more people, but all three of his trailers are currently deployed, so he’s reaching out to the community for funding and support.

“Each and every day we get a call from someone who may have lost a home, may be displaced, going through something, so we would like to have those campers at our disposal so we can meet those needs as they come in,” Devin said.

To donate, you can send a check to P.O Box 1145 in Gretna or you can donate on the Campers Care website through PayPal. You can also fill out a contact form on the website if you would like to get in touch with Devin about donating a camper.

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