support system – Our Front Porch

Insight from OFP Interns: Holly Kaiser, Metro State University BSW Intern

July 13, 2021/0 Comments/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, house fire, intern, long term recovery, our front porch, support system, therapy, trauma /by Heather Korth

What was your experience as an OFP intern?

My time spent interning with Our Front Porch has been filled with laughter, heartbreak, resiliency, and learning. When I started in late August 2020, I jumped right into the reality of the impact home fires have on survivors and the community. COVID-19 may have shut down the world, but human suffering had not stopped. From the first day of my internship, I was full speed ahead with helping people who had been displaced due to a home fire. I gained the greatest insight into the state of the housing market and how difficult it is to get people into affordable housing in the Denver metro area. The greatest joy I experienced came when clients proclaimed that just knowing that someone was in their corner while going through a horrendous experience was uplifting to them. Working with Heather and Maggie has been a wonderful experience. Their love, passion, and dedication to Our Front Porch is obvious with each interaction I have with them. Maggie has provided me with a wealth of social work knowledge while working through difficult cases. I am happy that I chose to intern with OFP and was able to be a part of such a wonderful agency built by two unique women.

Insight from OFP Interns: Madeleine Veith, University of Denver MSW Intern

June 16, 2021/0 Comments/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, homeless, house fire, intern, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma /by Heather Korth

What have you learned during your time at Our Front Porch?

The most profound sentence I have heard from a handful of clients these last seven months still resonates so deeply: “Thank you for not giving up on me.” I am learning from my clients how difficult it is to navigate after a home fire. They share about unwavering stress, profound grief, and a new need to rely on the people around them… something so difficult and humbling especially for my most independent clients. As people navigate finding new housing, recovering items/documents, and renegotiating boundaries with loved ones, it can seem like nothing is going well for them. I work with these clients in case management and therapy, and I am amazed. They navigate such profound difficulty with tremendous resilience, and they often experience a newfound softening towards leaning on others. That is where that sentence—thank you for not giving up on me—comes in. I am always caught off guard, in part because I can forget how exposed they feel in losing the four walls they could safely live behind. Yet, in calling our clients each week, listening to their stories, and empathizing with them throughout the highs and lows of rebuilding their lives, I see their resilience and courage to keep going. I cannot help but feel honored to enter into their stories and offer support in the small ways I can… but more than anything it has shown me the importance of offering support to my loved ones and receiving support as well. We are all so much stronger when we can lean on each other.

Insights from OFP Interns: Ashleigh Cherry, Walden University MSW Intern

June 4, 2021/0 Comments/in Denver, disaster, disaster stress, fire, healing, house fire, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, support system, therapy, trauma /by Heather Korth

What is it like working with home fire survivors?

I have come with no background in trauma recovery, so coming into Our Front Porch has been a great experience to see what ways support can be given to those in my community. This experience has been eye-opening and has shown that this is an area where many need support. Losing one’s home to a fire is more common than I had thought and many people never think it will happen to them. This is a problem that should have more public light than it does. Everyone has their own experience, but many barriers that come up are finding personal identification lost in the fire, receiving clothes or food, finding somewhere to stay, or financial support. Working with someone who has experience locating these resources can save time and relieve some of the anxiety people feel.

Trauma affects us all differently and I have learned that while working one on one with each individual. A lot of the time people just need someone to support them and aid in their progress, and talking it out helps move forward. It is often said that we need to meet people where they are at and this is very true and is something I have learned in general about this work. We can lay out steps and ways to get back on track but something simple to someone like helping hang up pictures or go through boxes of items saved from a fire is what someone really needs.

Beyond the Lights and Sirens – An Emergency Manager’s Perspective

July 9, 2019/0 Comments/in Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, long term recovery, our front porch, post-disaster housing, support system /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Dr. Enessa Janes, Community Resilience Coordinator

When people hear the words “disaster” or “emergency management,” they typically think about first responders (police, EMTs, or firefighters) or the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Although these groups are crucial to response efforts, when it comes time for families and communities to begin recovery, it takes a diverse group of partners and expertise to be successful.

Average Cost of Renters Insurance

January 17, 2019/1 Comment/in disaster, fire, hardship, house fire, insurance, long term recovery, support system /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Jeff Gitlen, LendEDU

Renters insurance is highly underrated and often overlooked. So when we came across this blog Jeff Gitlen wrote, originally published on the LendEDU blog, we just had to share his straightforward explanation and research on just how little a policy actually costs (HINT: it’s about the cost of a pizza!). When disaster strikes, having a renters insurance policy in hand can be helpful – read on for more!

At a Glance:

The average cost of renters insurance across the United States can change depending on where you live and how much coverage you need. Given the low cost – on average about $16 per month – and high value, a renters insurance policy can be a wise investment for renters.

This Work is Hard

May 25, 2018/0 Comments/in colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, high rent, homeless, house fire, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, rebuilding, social enterprise, startup, support system, temporary housing, therapy, trauma, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paxton Leibold, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: Olivia Vanni/The Victoria Advocate/Associated Press

Coming into this internship, I did not know what to expect. I had little to no clinical experience, I had never worked with the ‘short term’ homeless population nor clients who had severe trauma, and I honestly did not know how to do case management, let alone effective case management. However, while being a part of this organization, I learned how to do all of this and so much more. I learned that trauma can manifest in completely different ways within the same disaster, and that people are the most resilient when something tragic happens to them. From clients that have anxiety and depression, to clients that just want to move on; they are all resilient and deserve help. Another thing that I learned is that I am so irritated with how our society is ran. These types of clients (short term homeless) get little to no assistance through resources through in communities; why you ask? Because these people are physically not living on the street; per the homeless requirement in Denver, so they do not meet the criteria for government aid.

How messed up is this?

Sympathy is a Garbage Emotion

May 23, 2018/3 Comments/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, homeless, house fire, job, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, rebuilding, social enterprise, startup, support system, therapy, trauma, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

While working at Our Front Porch I have been able to hone some really useful skills, but one thing seems to stick out the most. Our Front Porch has given me an outlet to truly understand the difference between sympathy and empathy. Some people see these words as synonyms, but they are quite different. There are four words that I would consider to be related, but distinguishable: pity, sympathy, empathy, and compassion. Sympathy and empathy tend to be the two ideas that are intertwined the most. I would argue that empathy includes a component of connection and emotional intelligence that only comes from practice.

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 9, 2018/3 Comments/in childcare, children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, eating healthy, hardship, homeless, homelessness, job, mental health, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 2

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

In my most-recent blog post, I wrote about the fact that until I began working with Our Front Porch, I had no idea just how difficult it is to become totally stable after living in that type of unstable environment. The difficulties of trying to save money and start fresh, all while searching for house and looking for a job, are magnified with you’re also trying to support children or a family. And unfortunately, there are other factors that make the recovery process so difficult to navigate.

Photo Credit: Matt Longmire

10 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless

February 7, 2018/1 Comment/in childcare, children, disaster, disaster housing, disaster stress, hardship, high rent, homeless, homelessness, job, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized /by Heather Korth

Part 1

Guest Blogger: Taylar McCoy, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

As a child, I remember riding in the back of a friend’s parent’s car on a brisk day where our breath fogged up the windows. We were driving through the heart of the city in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. As we were covered in goosebumps, we pulled up to a red light where we saw a woman with a cardboard sign. After reading the sign describing her situation, and her two kids, my friend’s dad proceeded to say “why can’t she just go get a job like the rest of us? There’s no excuse to be homeless.” We drove past the woman and didn’t give her a second glance. As I grew up in the more rural outskirts of the city, I tended to start to share a similar mentality. I would often think about how if I see “now hiring” signs in windows everywhere, why are there so many homeless people?

Photo Credit: Daniel Nelson

How Our Front Porch Helps

January 22, 2018/0 Comments/in children, colorado, Denver, disaster, disaster housing, disaster relief, disaster stress, fire, hardship, healing, high rent, homeless, homelessness, house fire, hurricane, hurricane harvey, long term recovery, mental health, our front porch, post-disaster housing, social enterprise, support system, temporary housing, trauma, Uncategorized, volunteering /by Heather Korth

Guest Blogger: Paxton Leibold, Our Front Porch 2017-2018 Intern

Every person in the United States faces struggles on a daily basis. From running out gas, to losing a credit card; the human race struggles in every aspect of life. But what happens when a natural disaster hits and you lose everything you own and love? Would you be able to pick up and move on, know what to do, or be able to function soundly? I know in my personal life, I would not be able handle the most basic of everyday tasks. People are resilient and can handle so much, but sometimes they need help in this crisis period. I say this, because this is what I do in my internship: I help individuals who have lost everything due to a natural disaster.

Residents wade through floodwaters in Beaumont Place, Texas during Hurricane Harvey. Photo Credit: Jonathan Bachman/Reuters/Newscom