Two Dedications in One Day!

We are proud to welcome two more Camp Fire survivors home!

HCRN held two Home Dedications in late June to celebrate these two survivors, and there was hardly a dry eye in the house as each spoke about their challenges in coming home, the love and support they’ve received, and just how good it feels to be home.

“No matter the challenge we face, we are blessed to have each other in our lives. We are blessed to work in our community. We are blessed to help others,” said the Disaster Case Manger of one of our homeowners. Disaster Case Managers are one of the most important people in a survivors’ life. They help a disaster survivor navigate paperwork, meet basic needs, and advocate when they believe a client is missing out.

Thank you to the case managers in Butte County and the Town of Paradise for being steadfast in their work on behalf of Camp Fire survivors! Especially to those from North Valley Catholic Social Services and The Boys and Girls Club.

It takes so many partners and other organizations to get a disaster survivor home, and the most successful recoveries are those where communities come together. HCRN is proud to partner with local sources for lumber and materials, places like Meeks and Foothill Lumber who have kept their prices fair even as the pandemic has caused prices to increase. Thank you to the Camp Fire Collaborative and the CalHome program being managed through the Town of Paradise for enabling so many families the opportunity to rebuild and come home at an affordable cost.

We also want to thank one of our long term partner organizations, Christian Public Service (CPS), who have done so much work on our homes. This group of young men come from all over North America for several months and serve communities they have never met before hand. Their leader, Jonathon Toews, and his family will finish out their year of over seeing the young men in the program and return home. Toews had this to say of his experience in Paradise: “Coming here and meeting with all the locals, and how much the community thrives and everyone cares about people in this community. It’s done something to my heart, it’s softened it. It makes me want to do more for other people.”

Two more volunteer partners we want to thank are the United Methodist Church Northern California-Nevada Conference and International Relief Teams. Both have been so steadfast in their support of Camp Fire survivors, and even though they had no representatives to speak for them, we could not have done nearly as much as we have without the two of them.

So many other organizations have been a part of these projects, and have been truly wonderful partners to HCRN. We want to thank North Valley Community Foundation, Adventist Health, Rotary Club, and Skyridge Builders. Additionally, thank you to members of the Camp Fire Collaborative who were able to attend, including Tzu Chi and Rebuild Paradise.

Most importantly, thank you to our homeowners for letting us be a part of their recovery. One homeowner said, “I wanna thank everybody for being here. It’s been quite an experience. It’s amazing what you guys do. It’s been quite a challenge. Thank you very very much.”

If you want to be a part of Rebuilding Homes and Restoring Lives, you can donate here or visit our Volunteer page.