Update on the Estates Fire

Man, what an amazing last few days. And I know that sounds weird considering the circumstances, but what I love about these types of situations is that we can meet people at their lowest point and show them the absolute best in humanity. You guys show up every time, and it’s absolutely incredible to have a front row seat to it.

Update on the Families:
I spent 4 hours out at the Estate yesterday talking to the families affected by the fire. Out of the 20 units affected, we have been in touch with and have been directly helping 12 of them so far. And I just kind of wanted to give you a breakdown of what the last couple of days have looked like.

We have 8 families that we put up in a hotel right now, and we just extended their stay through the weekend. 5 of them have secured new units at the Estates that will be move-in ready by Monday, and 1 more that “I think” we have secured a new unit for them at a different complex. We should have confirmation on that today.

So far, we have all the families that we are working with squared away on clothing needs for now, as well as some other immediate needs like phone chargers, diapers, baby food, etc.

The hotel is covering breakfast, and we are providing dinner to the families at the hotel each night. So far, a huge thank you to Moira at CFA, Andrew with Craigos, and Kamilla with Austin Tea Xchange for stepping in to help us feed these families! On a kind of fun note, one of the residents wanted to treat all the families tonight to homemade Indian food, so that is super cool. And how sweet of them to want to do that, too. I think we have Mexican food on the menu for tomorrow.

We wanted to provide a little consistency and peace of mind for the residents, so we are providing lunch up at the clubhouse each day, while we are there (with an interpreter), to help answer questions, talk about immediate and ongoing needs with the residents, help them navigate next steps, etc.


Im Not Crying, You’re Crying
There were lots of tears yesterday. These families have just lost everything and had no idea what they were going to do, or even what to do next, because it’s just too much. It’s overwhelming for anyone. And to have someone sit there and actually offer them solutions— you could just instantly see the weight being lifted and the emotions just finally let go. What always gets me are the guys. Grown men, overwhelmed, breaking down in tears. As a guy, I think most of us can relate; we tend to hold things in. You don’t want others (especially your spouse) to see you struggling. There’s this feeling that you have to have all the answers, and then something like this happens, and you are left feeling completely helpless. We deal with a lot of tears, a lot of times, but to sit there yesterday with guy after guy, finally breaking down— it was a lot.


Insurance:
“But Mike… didn’t they have insurance?”
Yes and no.
At least two didn’t. And before anyone has any opinions on that— if you have ever been in a position where you are struggling just to get by, you’ll know that those are always the first thing to go. Car insurance, Health insurance, and Renters/ Homeowners insurance.

The others— one family told me their insurance company told them they would send a check (didn’t tell them how much), and then they (the insurance company) wiped their hands and cancelled their policy.

Another one told me their insurance called them no less than 20 times yesterday, asking them to provide receipts for what they lost. Umm… excuse me, ma’am. Would you like me to have a forensics team piece them back together from the ashes of the “total loss” fire we just had? Lemme just get right on that.

Oopsie:
On a funny note, we found out yesterday afternoon that we had accidentally put out the wrong number to text furniture pics to for The Good & Plenty Project. Turns out, some poor lady in Arlington has gotten no less than 37,000 pictures of furniture sent to her in the last 24 hours lol I know how you guys work when I put out a request, so I’m pretty sure she’s probably going to have to change her number after this. I am also pretty sure that I may have to send her some flowers.

To donate furniture and home goods, please text a picture and pick-up location to 512.815.2189 (“89”, not “85”). If you have already texted pictures to a random lady in Arlington, please resend pictures to a not-so-random lady in Spicewood lol.


The “Women That Get Shit Done” Club:
If this disaster has taught me anything, it’s that no matter what… surround yourself with a bunch of bad ass women that get shit done and don’t take no for an answer lol Let’s be honest…that’s who’s running the show around here. I just say “yes, ma’am” and stay out of their way. A huge thank you to Liza Edebor, Nicole Neal, Melanie Lockhart, and Krystle Alvarado. You guys are rock stars. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for these families. If you need me… I’ll just be over here staying out of your way lol

I also want to say thank you to Ben at Ben Archer State Farm and Arden at Restore Hyper Wellness for helping us collect items for them. And to Candice Escobedo for always being an ear and offering up solutions and advice for some often complex situations. And to Eyecare Essentials for stepping in to help get one of our families some new glasses!


A Cool Observation:
I was speaking with a member of the management team at Greystar yesterday, and she told me they had a client come through there earlier and had commented on “the feel” of the clubhouse. She said that typically, when they walk into situations like that, the mood is pretty somber, people are angry or upset, etc. But when she walked into the clubhouse there, the clubhouse was filled with residents who had just lost everything, and people were smiling, talking with each other, and in good spirits.

How cool is that?

That is 100% because of all of you. That inspite of losing everything, these families know that they aren’t doing this alone. They’re fed, they’re safe, they have a place to stay right now, and they have someone who is able to offer them solutions. Solutions that we are only able to offer them because of you guys. Because of your generosity and your willingness to show up when your neighbors need it most.


Needs:
Our biggest needs right now, over the next few days, is going to be priority furniture and home goods. We have multiple families ready to move into their new places as early as Monday, and as of right now, they’ll be sleeping on the floor and eating dinner criss-cross applesauce in the dining room.

We’re talking towels, dishware, cookware, TV’s, beds, sofas, sheets, hangers, etc. Think of all the small kitchen appliances, like a toaster, blender, crockpot, airfryer, coffee maker, and George Foreman Grill. Does anyone actually still use those lol?

So the next few days will be fast and furious. It will be a combo of Amazon lists and donations. We will have a priority list of items to get them moved in and then a follow-up list for things we can get after they move in.

So be looking for that.


To Donate:
If you would still like to donate, you can do so at twelvethirtyone.org/donate, or through the donate buttons posted below.

To close, I wanted to share this awesome picture from the hotel of some of our sweet families and members of the “Women That Get Shit Done” group.

Appreciate you all.

Simply put “Fire” in the notes when you donate.