Update
So since the last post, we had some terrible news followed by a string of good news.
First, the bad:
The apartment has been found to be contaminated with asbestos, which according to Colorado law necessitates an independent contractor to come in and clean things up. The end result of this for us is that we will never see the inside of our apartment again. Anything porous (clothes, furniture etc.) is a complete loss. Everything else has to be professionally located, catalogued, cleaned, tested and retested, meaning it might cost thousands of dollars just to get a few choice items out of the apartment, and since we didn't have renters insurance there's a possibility we'd have to pay for it ourselves (something neither of us can afford). So, we have to face the very real possibility that we will never see any of our belongings again.
Now the good:
We spoke with the managers of the apartment we were scheduled to move into on August 1 (yeah, if you are counting, we missed avoiding disaster by 2 weeks) has given us the okay to move in to our new apartment tomorrow, thus ending our 72 hours of homelessness (okay, we've been put up free of charge in a swanky hotel, but I'm still counting it). So we have an apartment but nothing to put in it. We have also been given more assistance than we could ever have asked for. To begin with, the Red Cross was kind enough to set up a relief center for everyone involved in the fire and gave people some money to help get basic supplies. We've also been getting tons of help from friends including a lot of additional money and clothing. So, we've gone from owning only my computer (which I grabbed on my way out the building) and the clothes on our backs, to now owning about the equivalent of 2 or 3 suitcases worth of clothing and a few basic toiletries. A damn good start if I do say so myself.
Bekah and I really appreciate everything people have done for us the last few days. We are extremely lucky to have a strong support system of friends and family to keep us above water. Some people in this fire don't. At this point, the biggest thing we need from people is simply moral support. Your thoughts and well wishes keep us going. Our emotional states have been pretty fluctuating since the fire. One minute we might be in good spirits and laughing (homeless jokes tend to be our favorites) and the next minute we remember another thing we've lost and break down in tears. Over the past year Rebekah and I had started to build a home, or at least the things you surround yourself to make yourself feel at home. Now we're starting all over again, with less than we started with. It's extremely humbling and it makes you appreciate absolutely everything you have going for you.
Finally, for any of you reading this, please PLEASE make sure you are properly insured if you are renting. You can't imagine how much you would kick yourself for not having it after something like this. It's not going to make a fire or other disaster easy to deal with, but it will at least make sure that you'll have someplace to start. Bekah and I are holding desperately onto the hope that my parents' homeowner's insurance will help out, but we also realize that our poor planning may cost us dearly.
First, the bad:
The apartment has been found to be contaminated with asbestos, which according to Colorado law necessitates an independent contractor to come in and clean things up. The end result of this for us is that we will never see the inside of our apartment again. Anything porous (clothes, furniture etc.) is a complete loss. Everything else has to be professionally located, catalogued, cleaned, tested and retested, meaning it might cost thousands of dollars just to get a few choice items out of the apartment, and since we didn't have renters insurance there's a possibility we'd have to pay for it ourselves (something neither of us can afford). So, we have to face the very real possibility that we will never see any of our belongings again.
Now the good:
We spoke with the managers of the apartment we were scheduled to move into on August 1 (yeah, if you are counting, we missed avoiding disaster by 2 weeks) has given us the okay to move in to our new apartment tomorrow, thus ending our 72 hours of homelessness (okay, we've been put up free of charge in a swanky hotel, but I'm still counting it). So we have an apartment but nothing to put in it. We have also been given more assistance than we could ever have asked for. To begin with, the Red Cross was kind enough to set up a relief center for everyone involved in the fire and gave people some money to help get basic supplies. We've also been getting tons of help from friends including a lot of additional money and clothing. So, we've gone from owning only my computer (which I grabbed on my way out the building) and the clothes on our backs, to now owning about the equivalent of 2 or 3 suitcases worth of clothing and a few basic toiletries. A damn good start if I do say so myself.
Bekah and I really appreciate everything people have done for us the last few days. We are extremely lucky to have a strong support system of friends and family to keep us above water. Some people in this fire don't. At this point, the biggest thing we need from people is simply moral support. Your thoughts and well wishes keep us going. Our emotional states have been pretty fluctuating since the fire. One minute we might be in good spirits and laughing (homeless jokes tend to be our favorites) and the next minute we remember another thing we've lost and break down in tears. Over the past year Rebekah and I had started to build a home, or at least the things you surround yourself to make yourself feel at home. Now we're starting all over again, with less than we started with. It's extremely humbling and it makes you appreciate absolutely everything you have going for you.
Finally, for any of you reading this, please PLEASE make sure you are properly insured if you are renting. You can't imagine how much you would kick yourself for not having it after something like this. It's not going to make a fire or other disaster easy to deal with, but it will at least make sure that you'll have someplace to start. Bekah and I are holding desperately onto the hope that my parents' homeowner's insurance will help out, but we also realize that our poor planning may cost us dearly.