The Story of a Christmas Day Home Fire
“A catastrophic house fire is one of those life traumas that you cannot prepare for and that occurs when you least expect it. Mine came on Christmas night. In a matter of hours, all of the trappings and creations of a life of 65 years literally “went up in smoke.” Even today, I still check the house for signs of fire if I smell smoke, although I know the smell is an artifact of the wildfires. That is just part of my fire PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). The more significant PTSD, however, has come from seeing the printed name of the contractor I hired to rebuild my home. Sadly, this name has come to represent the most arduous marathon of unimaginable snafus and ineptness. Enter Our Front Porch (OFP).
Honestly at my wits’ end after 6 months of no progress toward rebuilding my home and going on my 5th different project manager, I happened to read an article about non-profit funding that mentioned OFP in The Denver Post. I reached out to OFP through their website, and almost immediately was contacted by one of the co-founders. That day truly changed my life and provided hope where I saw none. OFP has been the most amazing advocate for me for over a year now. Trained as an architect, OFP’s Project Manager brings a wealth of knowledge into the rebuilding process, experience and expertise that I lacked but so desperately needed. Since our first meeting, she has partnered with me every step of the way throughout a reconstruction experience that has truly been “stranger than fiction.” Her unflagging support, her creativity in solving problems, and her incredible resourcefulness have truly been priceless.
Today, I have my home, and I still have my mind. I would have lost both of these without the benefit of OFP as a constant source of support and guidance. Slogging through the process of rebuilding a home is difficult under the best of circumstances…the only way around it is through it. Having OFP as an advocate has been a lifeline for me for which I will be forever grateful.”
This client has showed so much strength and resilience through this process, and we hope this Christmas will bring better memories as she settles into her new home!
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.
