Residents of the Sunstone Townhomes return to the scene.
Story and photos by Kate Walters, Volunteer/Public Affairs
Colorado Springs, CO, Friday, April 13, 2018, 7 P.M.
On March 26, twenty townhomes were destroyed by fire leaving sixty residents displaced. Today, many of the Sunstone Townhomes residents took a brave step forward as they returned to view the condition of their charred homes. They came to collect any salvageable belongings and to begin to bring closure to the incident, an important step in the recovery process.
Disaster Mental Health volunteer Kasey Cruz helps Donald Long search for a missing key.
Thanks to the forward thinking of one of our amazing volunteers, Kathy Sharkey, our powerful Southeastern Colorado Red Cross team was with the residents while fulfilling the Red Cross mission to provide relief to victims of disaster. We stepped outside of the box of our typical DAT call. One spiritual care and 2 mental health volunteers were on hand throughout the entire day. They helped carry boxes and search homes as they provided much needed emotional support. We initially arrived with work gloves, masks, shovels and sifting boxes. We soon discovered that there was a need for food, water and blankets as well. The on call DAT team responded to the request, delivered the items and then stayed on the scene to help residents move their belongings. One mental health volunteer helped a man who had arrived alone to come to terms with the total loss of his home and its contents. He later said that he didn’t feel like he could have faced the ordeal alone.
Disaster Spiritual Care volunteer Hugh Wilson offers a different kind of support.
Some residents were surprised at what they found. One person found that her television was melted into a pile on the ground but her family photos were still very much intact. She exclaimed “I never thought I would feel so happy to walk into my burned up place for the first time! I thought it would be terrible but I am blessed, blessed that so many photos are still here.” Another was surprised by the fact that she needed to rent a trailer to move her things because much of her place had remained undamaged. Still another was sifting through the ashes of his home in an attempt to find just one important key. His townhome was merely a shell of the place he had once lived. Through all of these moments, our volunteers were available providing supplies, sustenance and support.
Once again, our amazing team of volunteers has come together to make a difference. And we’ll be doing it all again tomorrow!
Every day, seven people die in home fires, most in homes that lack working smoke alarms. On April 28th SECO volunteers and partners will be installing smoke alarms in Colorado Springs and Fountain. To register to volunteer or to have a smoke alarm installed call 719-785-2767 or go to SoundtheAlarm.org/Colorado.