A Pacific Palisades woman is facing the loss of not only her home but also her business while trying to find a place to stay with her teenage son.
Tonya Warren, a single mother living in Pacific Palisades, said she is facing a new reality after the Palisades fire destroyed her rent-controlled apartment and business. She owned Tawnya, a high-end jewelry and clothing store on Sunset Boulevard near where Pacific Palisades Village once stood.
“I put all the money I had into my business for my future,” she said. “I thought that was my retirement plan.”
When she and her 17-year-old son were forced from their home by the fire, she said she prayed that they wouldn’t lose everything.
“I kept saying, ‘God, please don’t take both.’ Either I protect my sanctuary, where I live, or I protect my store in retirement. Just take both.” Please don’t take it. I’m a single mom,” Warren said.
“It just doesn’t seem real,” said Warren’s son, Ayle John.
The two are now bouncing from house to house.
“We were housed in Larchmont, and before that we were housed in Koreatown, and then someone gave us a place to stay,” Warren said. “Now we are staying in Venice for 10 days.”
As of Monday night, the Palisades Fire was 61% contained. Nearly 5,000 structures were destroyed in its relentless path.
Source link
