Rock Hill man gets help from former teachers after losing his mom in fire

ROCK HILL, S.C. — It’s been almost a week since a fire in Rock Hill that left a 21-year-old man without his mother, who was also his caretaker.

Kheam Weldon made it out alive but lost everything, including his mom, who was also his caretaker. Now, two of his former teachers are working to make sure he’s taken care of.

“Obviously showing up at the hospital, being there, and just him by himself was really heartbreaking for us,” Erin Poepping said.

When Erin Poepping arrived at the hospital, Weldon was facing a future he never imagined. He was inside his Rock Hill home on Maple Street with his mom a week ago when it caught fire.

She died, and the young man with special needs made it out with serious burns to his legs.

“We just wanted to be there for him and you know, a familiar face, comfortability. He had questions about he didn’t know where he was going to live. And once we were there and said, you don’t have to worry about that. You don’t have to worry about it.”

Poepping and Myra Hargrove were Weldon’s teachers at Southpointe High School. They helped him make it to graduation.

Now, with his mom gone, they’ve vowed to help him transition into adulthood.

“She was a very sweet lady. Every encounter I had with her was great. She, you know, she always wanted the best for her son. And, you know, her son was her entire world. And, you know, she was his. So that bond will always be there,” Hargrove said.

They’re taking things one day at a time.

“We are currently in the process of kind of finding some sort of independent living or college. He has mentioned wanting to do a life program,” Poepping said.

Whatever the path, they say he won’t have to walk it alone.

“I told him like, you’re gonna be with us, you’re stuck with us for the rest of your lives now,” Poepping said.

The community has also been by that young man’s side. He lost everything, so many people have donated clothes and funds to help him.

If you’d like to help, you can donate at this link.