Stanley Young of D.C. has eight children.

A major responsibility in itself, fatherhood is not the only thing consuming Young’s focus at this time.  Young was recently displaced from his home after it was destroyed in a massive fire. Bad enough on it’s own, homelessness is not the only thing weighing painfully on Young’s mind at this time. In fact, Young is not only a single father, and not only displaced, but also recently lost his job as a contraction worker in D.C.

Touched by Young’s story and it’s tragic turn of events, rapper Nas has stepped in to help. Kicking off a crowdfunding campaign on crowdtilt.com, the Life is Good lyricist had this to say:

Stanley Young is an unemployed construction worker and single father. Two weeks ago, a fire destroyed his home. His family is stuck in a hotel, but time is running out. I could barely watch his tragic story on the news… here’s the clip: http://www.wjla.com/articles/2013/08/young-family-seeks-home-after-fire-92390.html – they will be kicked out by August 13th if we don’t do something to help now.

I am also a single father, and we don’t get enough credit in this country. I’m committed to helping Stanley and his eight (yes 8!) kids. Moreover, I believe and hope that we should all, as a community, come together to help our fellow American men and women when they need us in desperate situations like this. See if you can’t find a few dollars to help the Youngs get back on their feet with me. We need to raise enough to extend their stay, and maybe even afford a down payment on a new house or something.

This is real. It is me. I’m putting in $5,000 myself. Never done something like this, but I have faith that our American community can pull together a miracle for this strong family who needs our help right now. We’ve already made our first, $20,000 goal, and I’ve put in another $5,000 on top.

Thanks and God bless.

Nas’ campaign has already surpassed it’s $50,000 goal, collecting an astonishing $60,000 from over 2,000 contributors with close to a week left. Major props to Nas for doing the right thing.

Click here to help.

-Ese (@140LetterEssay)