PALM BEACH COUNTY, Fla. — Two young boys, who lost everything they had in a fire a few years ago, are now dealing with the unimaginable pain of losing their mother.
Zyion and Jojo have been living with Melissa Chandler and Tim Brown since the fire, that left them and their mother Christina Vasquez, homeless.
Couple tells WPTV reporter Kayla McDermott how they took in Zyion and Jojo
"She just would rather not have the boys in the shelter with her," said Chandler.
The couple first met the boys when Chandler served as their mentor and later became their godmother. For the couple, taking kids in who are in need is not uncommon.
"We have five children from another mother that we adopted," Chandler said.
But the boys staying at Chandler's home was supposed to be temporary, until Vasquez was back on her feet. But she never had the time to make that happen. Vasquez died in a car accident on Jan. 13.
"We couldn't believe that, this just couldn't be true. So surreal," Chandler said, reflecting on the phone call she received that she knew would change Zyion and Jojo's lives forever.
The boys were very close with their mom. She had to sit the boys down and tell them their mother had passed.
"Jojo just lost it... and he just cried," Chandler said.
For her final resting place, Zyion wanted, "for his mother to be buried by his great grandmother," but the costs were too high. So, Chandler started a fundraiser for cremation services.
"It makes me feel happy, because I can have my mom's ashes and love what they did for me," Jojo said.
The fundraiser has already surpassed its goal, and as for the extra funds.
"They will go into their savings account, where they can generate a little more money with it," Brown said.
Even though their mother is gone, the boys are not going anywhere.
"It's more or less going down to the courthouse," Brown said, in order to go and sign the adoption papers.
Staying in the home that has provided so much stability, love and care for Jojo and his brother is everything he could wish for.
"I'm so grateful for being here and them taking me in," Jojo said.
For Chandler, adopting the boys was never a question.
"Family is not about blood, family is about who you grow with," she said.
To continue to donate to Zyion and Jojo, click here.
