Camp Fire Survivors: the Englants
UPDATE: Home Found!
Five adults, two dogs, and a baby in dire need of a 3-bedroom, dog-friendly home during a crushing housing shortage. Amazingly, a compassionate landlord responded to our campaign and agreed to rent to the family, including making modifications to the home to make it ADA compliant for Lisa’s disability.
Next was the challenge of finding a way to give the dogs a yard in a space where the landlord did not wish to build a fence. A generous donor has made it possible to purchase 200+’ of fence panels so their dogs can enjoy a large yard.
Everybody is moved in and starting the work of personal recovery. Their back story is beneath this photo.
To put it simply, the Englants have suffered profound loss before and after the Butte County Camp Fire. No one wants their losses to define them, but they need to overcome some major hurdles to help them get on track with healing. Thankfully this family of five adults and baby have each other and two special dogs who came into their lives as Service Dogs before the fire. Meeko the Blocky dog (right) serves to alert Lisa when her blood pressure fluctuates to troubling levels. And Addie helps Mark by serving as his PTSD service dog.
You may have read their their story in the papers about their excruciating search for family remains in the ashes of their burned home (LINK). A trained Border Collie helped them recover three of their four family members’ ashes. Tony and Lisa have since been in a hotel room for two months, and the confinement and isolation is starting to wear on them. In addition to their grief, their ability to move forward with creating a new life is hampered by Lisa’s medical condition. She was disabled after suffering an injury while in the line of duty as a police officer. Her condition prevents them from being able to rebuild for two years or more due to reported toxins at the fire site, so they’re hoping to rent a home in the area where they can rest and recover. Finding a suitable home has been difficult, though.
Lisa’s husband Tony is her full time caretaker, but he’s also disabled after an injury while working as an engineer for Union Pacific Railroad. They’re fortunate to have State Farm insurance which will cover their rent, but the housing market is tight and they’ve been too overwhelmed by stress and grief to navigate the bigger job of finding a suitable house that meets all their needs. Tony told us that it feels like he’s “moving through quicksand.”
Yuba City Area HOUSING NEED / Update: Home Found
We’ve gotten to know them and are humbled by their stamina and dedication to their family and dogs. We’re using all our best resources to help them connect with empathetic landlords so they can find a comfortable home that can be modified with a ramp for Lisa’s wheelchair and other needs.
They’re searching for a 3+ bedroom home so five adults – Tony and Lisa, Mark, Preston, Tiffany and their new baby – can stay together under one roof. They prefer a rural setting if at all possible, and to be no more than a half hour drive from Yuba City.
We’ve had one good lead that we’re pursuing. If you have any housing connections in the area, please let us know so we can help them with their search. Thank you.
