DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Tiaja Gilliam said coming home isn’t as simple as it sounds.
“It took me about a week to even come back to get my car. I just couldn’t see it,” Gilliam said.
She didn’t want to see what was left of her place, the Las Palmas Apartments in Norcross.
On Dec. 14, a late-night fire destroyed four units and damaged two others.
Fortunately, nobody was hurt, but 40 people were left with nowhere to stay.
Gilliam has dealt with this kind of thing before.
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“I’m used to responding to emergencies, not me being the emergency,” Gilliam said.
That’s because she’s a DeKalb County Police Officer.
“In DeKalb County, we’re a family. Our goal is to show Officer Gilliam how much we love and support her, and what that looks like,” said Officer Elise Wells with the DeKalb County Police Department.
The department takes care of its own, and so does this community.
A fundraiser has been organized to help Gilliam start over.
She hopes her neighbors, who also lost it all, will also get some help.
She’s grateful for her colleagues, who she said always have your back.
“Prayers, financial assistance, kind words, and offering their homes. They’re my brothers and sisters in blue, for sure,” Gilliam said.
If you’d like to help Gilliam get back on her feet, CLICK HERE.