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Philly DJ known for community outreach in need of help after devastating house fire
A Philadelphia DJ known for doing outreach in the community for the homeless and youth is now finding himself on the other end asking for help.
CEDARBROOK - A Philadelphia DJ known for doing outreach in the community for the homeless and youth is now finding himself on the other end asking for help.
DeAndri Postell, known as DJ 1Eleven, is opening up about the most traumatic period of his life which started during seven-day cruise right after Thanksgiving.
Postell drove to Florida with his grandmother to join other family members on their first ever cruise and then on the third day at sea received disturbing news about his Philadelphia home.
"I got the notification on my Google doorbell around 6 p.m. that somebody was at my door, so I looked at my phone and it was the fire department breaking in. I was very distraught," said Postell. "The whole block was blocked off by the fire department. [My friend] had to fight to get down here and my home was gone. I’m thinking this is some kind of freak accident, but then [the Fire Marshal] started walking through my home and I noticed things are missing."
Postell said among the valuables that were burglarized included firearms, video games, TVs, sound bars and his DJ equipment.
The house in Cedarbrook is owned by another family member and Postell took advantage of the opportunity to move in, spending tons of time and money on renovations. He lived in the home for a year and half and only learned after the fire, his family member did not have homeowners insurance.
"I don’t know what I could’ve possibly done to make somebody hate me enough to take away everything I ever worked for in my life," said Postell. "Especially when you work so hard to put positivity out into the world, to be met with such a great level of negativity is devastating. Every day is kind of hard for me."
The fire happened last year on November 28 and just days later on December 4, Philadelphia Police investigated a deadly double shooting on Sommers Road that injured a 45-year-old woman and killed a 44-year-old man.
Postell said the family learned the victim was his uncle, Jonathan James.
"My family has been robbed of a great soul of a person," said Postell. "It was even more devastating because you don’t expect things like this to happen to your family. I’m just trying to figure out how to put back the pieces of my life and my family and kind of move forward."
Philadelphia Police made an arrest in both the arson and murder case which added to the family’s trauma.
On January 19, police arrested Tajon James, 20, who is Postell’s cousin.
"He was one of the youths that I tried to mentor over the past years. Friends knew him over the years as my little brother because he was such a staple. If you saw me, nine times out of ten you saw him," said Postell. "I’d DJ, he would come to events with me. I brought him up to campus while I was up in college. I just tried to be as much of a mentor to him as I possibly could."
Postell said he even opened his doors to James for a few years and laid down some ground rules.
"All I asked for him was to finish school or you know if you’re not going to finish school that’s fine, but you do need to contribute. You need to get a job, you know, be positive and give something back to the community," said Postell.
Postell said James left for Job Corps last year but came back to Philadelphia in a matter of months.
"As far as I know, when he got back into the city I had a couple interactions with him, there was nothing weird and nothing that would make me think any malice or anything," said Postell.
Prior to the arson, Postell was working as a school bus driver and taking DJ gigs. In recent months, he became employed with a trucking company for a steadier paycheck.
The home is still in the same state as the day of the arson. Postell has been couch surfing until recently when he was able to find temporary housing in Kensington.
"I’m just grateful for whatever anybody is offering, any resources available, if you know of any programs, you can share that information I will be very grateful for that," said Postell.
Friends of Postell have set up a gofundme campaign to help him.