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NPR said it best this AM -
"Imagine San Francisco emptied. Completely."
That's how many people have been displaced down here.
I gotta go call some folks today. I'm not busy enough. I'm surrounded by plenty of evidence, but the phone's not ringing.
--
Folks, you want to know what you can give someone who has lost everything in a fire?
Give them security.
Bring them home with you. Feed them. Let them have hot showers with the good shampoo and bath fizzies if they're up for it. Have a hot meal waiting for when they're done. Wash their clothes while they're in the shower. Wash *everything* they brought with them if it needs it. Keep yer yap shut about people getting what they deserve...NOBODY gets what they deserve...and nobody asked for this. Say "I'm so sorry" and let it be.
If you know how, help them place an insurance claim. Provide a pad of paper and writing tools for them to carry around with the claim number, their adjuster's name and phone number and any other identifying marks. Provide a larger one for them to begin the inventory of their lost possessions. If you can spare it, give them a digital camera to take back with them when they go back to their house to begin the documentation process.
Before they go, pack them a sack lunch and make sure they take drinks with them. Oh, and a basic first-aid kit with bandaids and antibiotic ointment in it.
Give them respect.
Listen. Take notes, if need be. Offer to make phone calls to people who should know where they are and that they're okay.
Don't loan anything you aren't willing to just wave goodbye to. It's not worth the hassle. Really - I have a funny thing about loaning anything out. I just don't do it. Flip side of that is that I always have a ton of stuff spare - thank my mad mad packrattery skills, but I do. I won't begrudge you much - but I won't loan you anything, either. It's mine - or it's yours. Period.
Give them the creature comforts.
Food, clothing, shelter - okay. But don't forget - they need books, music and diversion as well.
After the first house fire, I had two books to read the entire summer. Love Story and The Andromeda Strain. Seriously. THE ENTIRE SUMMER. Three records - only one of which I could play. Television? What we could get off the air and that wasn't much more than a very faint receive on two channels, one of which wasn't in English.
If they do knittery, get them tools,yarn and patterns. Get the hands busy.
You got a spare mp3 player? Load it and pass it on.
Go find some spare paperbacks. Oh, and don't forget cookbooks either. Everything is gone - and the rebuilding will include replacing basic reference materials. Got a ton of freebie recipe cards? There you go.
They will have lost all of their holiday decorations. All of them. ALL OF THEM. Start thinking. (See knittery. They can start making new ones right away if they have materials to do so.)
A number #1 box from IKEA has everything to refit a kitchen. Consider purchasing one or two to have on hand. I don't see them on the website, but if you visit a store - they're there. Ask where they've put them this year.
If you pack a mug, pack coffee, tea and sweeteners. Thing to stir with. Think about what you are packing for them - are you including everything that makes it possible for them to use it? Like, batteries? Pre-loaded spice shakers are a big plus.
A jacket. A sweater. A pair of shoes that they can wear sorting through junk.
Go through what you have and divest mercilessly.
Anything you have in good working condition is better than nothing.
Make sure they know how to reach you when they forget something. They will.
They will want to go HOME in the worst way, with no home to go to - warn them ahead of time this is going to hit like a ton of bricks within a week or so and not freak out when it does.
The fact there are a lot of sympathetic ears does not make it any less miserable. Percentages don't make a hill of beans when your home is 100% gone. And I don't care if you had a mint or a pot to piss in - it was yours and now it's GONE.
--
I gotta go make some phone calls.
That's how many people have been displaced down here.
I gotta go call some folks today. I'm not busy enough. I'm surrounded by plenty of evidence, but the phone's not ringing.
--
Folks, you want to know what you can give someone who has lost everything in a fire?
Give them security.
Bring them home with you. Feed them. Let them have hot showers with the good shampoo and bath fizzies if they're up for it. Have a hot meal waiting for when they're done. Wash their clothes while they're in the shower. Wash *everything* they brought with them if it needs it. Keep yer yap shut about people getting what they deserve...NOBODY gets what they deserve...and nobody asked for this. Say "I'm so sorry" and let it be.
If you know how, help them place an insurance claim. Provide a pad of paper and writing tools for them to carry around with the claim number, their adjuster's name and phone number and any other identifying marks. Provide a larger one for them to begin the inventory of their lost possessions. If you can spare it, give them a digital camera to take back with them when they go back to their house to begin the documentation process.
Before they go, pack them a sack lunch and make sure they take drinks with them. Oh, and a basic first-aid kit with bandaids and antibiotic ointment in it.
Give them respect.
Listen. Take notes, if need be. Offer to make phone calls to people who should know where they are and that they're okay.
Don't loan anything you aren't willing to just wave goodbye to. It's not worth the hassle. Really - I have a funny thing about loaning anything out. I just don't do it. Flip side of that is that I always have a ton of stuff spare - thank my mad mad packrattery skills, but I do. I won't begrudge you much - but I won't loan you anything, either. It's mine - or it's yours. Period.
Give them the creature comforts.
Food, clothing, shelter - okay. But don't forget - they need books, music and diversion as well.
After the first house fire, I had two books to read the entire summer. Love Story and The Andromeda Strain. Seriously. THE ENTIRE SUMMER. Three records - only one of which I could play. Television? What we could get off the air and that wasn't much more than a very faint receive on two channels, one of which wasn't in English.
If they do knittery, get them tools,yarn and patterns. Get the hands busy.
You got a spare mp3 player? Load it and pass it on.
Go find some spare paperbacks. Oh, and don't forget cookbooks either. Everything is gone - and the rebuilding will include replacing basic reference materials. Got a ton of freebie recipe cards? There you go.
They will have lost all of their holiday decorations. All of them. ALL OF THEM. Start thinking. (See knittery. They can start making new ones right away if they have materials to do so.)
A number #1 box from IKEA has everything to refit a kitchen. Consider purchasing one or two to have on hand. I don't see them on the website, but if you visit a store - they're there. Ask where they've put them this year.
If you pack a mug, pack coffee, tea and sweeteners. Thing to stir with. Think about what you are packing for them - are you including everything that makes it possible for them to use it? Like, batteries? Pre-loaded spice shakers are a big plus.
A jacket. A sweater. A pair of shoes that they can wear sorting through junk.
Go through what you have and divest mercilessly.
Anything you have in good working condition is better than nothing.
Make sure they know how to reach you when they forget something. They will.
They will want to go HOME in the worst way, with no home to go to - warn them ahead of time this is going to hit like a ton of bricks within a week or so and not freak out when it does.
The fact there are a lot of sympathetic ears does not make it any less miserable. Percentages don't make a hill of beans when your home is 100% gone. And I don't care if you had a mint or a pot to piss in - it was yours and now it's GONE.
--
I gotta go make some phone calls.