South Florida grieves the victims of the Champlain Towers South collapse (includes video story)

It has been nearly two weeks since the Champlain Towers South building collapse, and throughout endlessly emerging stories of tragedy, the community has united at makeshift memorials to show their support.

Manny Moreno was compelled to visit the memorial across from the collapse to pay his respects to those who are missing and deceased.

“It’s a little bit sad. But at the same time, I feel like when people come together, there’s joy, hope and fulfillment,” he said.

The victims of this collapse are pictured across the memorial wall. Among those victims are the Guara family: Marcus Guara, 52, Anaely Guara, 42, and their two daughters, Lucia, 11, and Emma, 4. They are some of the youngest victims of this tragedy.

A flyer with photos of the family was left at the makeshift memorial while they were still missing.

Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava made a statement about the collapse and its victims last week.

“Our community, our nation and the world– we’re all mourning with these families who have lost loved ones. We grieve with them and we lift them up as a community. And we’re so grateful for the support from all of you everywhere.”

She added that the loss of these children is too great to bear.

“It is also with great sorrow, real pain, that I have to share with you that two of these were children age 4 and 10.”

Navah Lisman was a classmate of Lucia Guara and another young girl who lived at the Champlain Towers South Condominium. When she heard the news of her friends’ building collapsing, she said that she wanted to do something for the families. Lisman set up a GoFundMe page and has raised over $20,000 so far.

“I started a GoFundMe on Thursday to try and raise money for the people who are involved in the crashing, and because I wanted to do what I could to help from Orlando,” she said.

The community continues to hold on to hope as the search and rescue mission proceeds.

Helen Acevedo is an FIU student majoring in broadcast media with a minor in political science and international relations. She is passionate about giving people a platform to tell their truths.