“We walked away with our lives,” said Nakeesha Richmond-Moore. “My children don’t have the trauma of running from a burning building. I didn’t lose any of my children and my children didn’t lose their mother.”
For Nakeesha, that truth kept her grounded in the days after the devastating six-alarm fire at The Cooper apartments in Fort Worth. The fire, which erupted June 23, displaced more than 800 residents and permanently destroyed 23 units, including the home she shared with her 17-year-old son and two young daughters.
That morning had started like any other. After a trip to the DMV to help her son get his driver’s license, they came home to chaos. Fire trucks and ambulances lined the street. At first, they assumed the fire was somewhere else until they realized they couldn’t turn onto their block.
They parked down the street and walked up to find smoke, flames and water pouring into the road.
“It just didn’t click that we’d never be able to go back inside,” she said. “We lost everything. Twenty-five years’ worth of memories and belongings.”
The Community Steps In
In the days that followed, the community mobilized. United Way of Tarrant County (UWTC) partnered with Fort Worth Councilwoman Elizabeth Beck and Near Southside, Inc. to launch the Cooper Fire Relief Fund. More than $100,000 was raised and distributed directly to impacted residents, including Nakeesha and her family.
The support helped survivors secure temporary housing, replace essentials and access critical services. Hundreds of donors across Tarrant County contributed, including foundations, businesses and individuals.
For Nakeesha, the support went beyond dollars and cents. When walking into UWTC’s office to pick up cash from the Cooper Fire Relief Fund, the wave of compassion she felt brought her to tears.
“It wasn’t just the money,” she said. “It was knowing that someone cared. That someone helped. That kind of selfless love touches you in a way that’s hard to explain.”
Staying Focused in the Chaos
In the immediate aftermath, Nakeesha didn’t have time to process what had happened. Her continuing education coursework had to be completed by the end of the month to keep her real estate license active and with it, her ability to provide for her family.
“I had to stay focused on my classes,” she said. “If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to work. I kept going, even though everything around me had fallen apart.”
Her family stayed in a hotel for a week before finding temporary housing in the West 7th area to stay close to her children’s schools. Her son was entering his senior year, and she was determined to maintain some stability for him and her daughters.
On the Other Side of Support
Earlier in the year, Nakeesha had volunteered with UWTC’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, preparing free tax returns for households making $67,000 or less a year. As a professional tax preparer, she knew how much it meant for families to keep every dollar of their refund.
“I joined VITA because I saw what United Way was doing, and I wanted to be part of it,” she said. “Helping people keep every dollar of their refund, people who really need it, that meant everything to me.”
Now, on the receiving end of that support, her perspective has deepened.
“To be in a position where I needed help was humbling. But when you’re in that moment, any help means everything,” she said. “Even a little bit takes so much weight off your shoulders.”
That support, she said, helped her get her children through the most immediate and uncertain days, providing essentials and easing the heavy burden of starting over.
Moving Forward
Today, Nakeesha and her children are still rebuilding, but her mindset is already focused on giving back.
“One day, this will just be a memory,” she said. “I am just really thinking about how I can be of service to someone that's been through an unexpected tragedy.”
She remains deeply thankful to every individual, business and foundation that donated to the relief fund and helped her family begin again.