Carr Fire Survivor Loses Home, Gains New Perspective on Life
Stephanie was evacuated at 3:00 a.m. when the Carr Fire hit Keswick. With two dogs and no family in the area, it was difficult to find a place to stay. On top of that, Stephanie had to figure out how to pay for her extended hotel stay and mortgage on a cashier’s salary. With a little money from her mother, her first few days at Motel 6 were taken care of. “I took my dogs, medication, extra pair of work clothes and shoes. That’s all I had.” Stephanie continued to work as a cashier at Holiday Market as the fire blazed on. When it was eventually extinguished, she and her dogs would not have a place to return to. Stephanie’s home was destroyed.
Later, Stephanie visited the Local Assistance Center, a one-stop-shop with critical services for wildfire survivors, where she signed up for resources with United Way of Northern California (UWNC). “United Way paid for my hotel room until insurance money came through,” said Stephanie, “It was a huge help!” In addition to that, she was surprised to find that UWNC had $1,000 checks for Carr Fire survivors, which helped cover other expenses. For example, Stephanie and other survivors staying in hotels had no place to cook or store food, forcing them to eat out for many of their meals.
“I didn’t know there was so much help out there. I had insurance money but it wasn’t coming yet and that’s where United Way helped me. I was very under-insured. When you have an old mobile, they can only insure you for so much. I didn’t have nearly enough and [the money] came later than it should have,” said Stephanie. In addition to providing financial aid, UWNC staff person, Verenda Rodriguez, worked tirelessly to ensure survivors like Stephanie were taken care of in their time of need. “Anytime I asked for something it was there. With the hotel, it was immediate. She really went above and beyond to make sure I had a place to stay for the night.”
After three years of living in a small camper on the property where her home once stood, Stephanie received the keys to her new home in Keswick. Shortly after, she was surprised- yet again- to be contacted by UWNC with an offer to help furnish her new home. “It was like Christmas. I didn’t know how I was going to do it. Just a little bit over time. I never had a family. I always paid for everything myself, never took a handout. It was hard to get used to my new home. For the first month, I still stayed in the little camper on my property because, I don’t know, I was kind of shell shocked.”
But to Stephanie, the help from United Way of Northern California was more than a check or some furniture. “I’ve been on my own since I was 14. I never thought anything like this really existed. I thought it was just something you saw on tv. I’m 52 years old and I was starting to get jaded. I was starting to feel bad about society and the people in it, [but] there are good people out there. People have big hearts. It impacted me by changing who I am. That’s what I really got out of this.”