00:00:01.240 - 00:00:15.420

All right. Here we go. All right. So just briefly, like one of the questions that we kind of constructed was, um, it's a basic one. Like, how do you recall? How did you find out about the tubs fire on the night of October 8th? Ok. So,

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um the tubs fire, how I found out about it is I was sleeping and I heard some of the clients waking up and um they told me to look out the window and I look, yeah, and I, I looked out the window. I was actually in

00:00:32.759 - 00:00:49.029

one of the rooms that faces the street room 12. And I was, I, I was looking down and I was trying to wrap my mind around what I was singing because it was just red flames on every side of us. And so, um Natalie was there

00:00:49.040 - 00:01:04.110

at that time. She was volunteering and she had spent the night. And so the girls started to panic and we were all coming downstairs and we were saying, well, what's going on because we were surrounded by fire. And um not only said she wasn't sure and

00:01:04.120 - 00:01:19.610

she said that Sylvie was on her way but, because you know how that road on highway 12 is, we couldn't get Sylvie, couldn't get up or out of that road. So, we were, like, trying to divide the plan on what we would do next. Ok. Wow,

00:01:19.620 - 00:01:34.629

that's, I just, I had no idea. That's really wild. Um, it was really wild. It was, it was, it was like three o'clock in the morning, you know, and I was kind of like, well, what's going on? I just got in, out of jail. Oh, really?

00:01:34.639 - 00:01:52.610

So, ok, so that's how you are. So then you were inpatient. Yeah. And then it was a tough play task client. And then, so you just got transferred from jail and you were just there. Yeah. Thank God because Sylvie was gonna keep me there. But I

00:01:52.620 - 00:02:06.169

applied some pressure because I was like, really, I really need to do this for my CPS case. Please take me out. And she was like, um, they, she talked to Mike and they got me out early. Thank God they did. No kidding. Right. Yeah, because everybody

00:02:06.180 - 00:02:24.919

was on hold in the jail. So it was really bad. But um my daughter lives in Kaufman Park. Oh, no. Ok. So this is where it gets weird. So hit me. All right. So we were having this fire and it's like all over the place and

00:02:24.929 - 00:02:37.440

Natalie is trying to devise a plan and we were like, nobody was prepared to what we were gonna do for um, the exit where we gonna, just because we had no phone lines or anything where we just gonna get on foot and were we gonna walk?

00:02:37.449 - 00:02:55.710

Which direction do we walk? Because it was essentially we were surrounded by fire, right? And so Sylvie had pulled in and she started taking groups of people and so two of the vans and then her car and she left me behind with like, I think it

00:02:55.720 - 00:03:07.839

was like 4 to 5 other clients and she said, Stephanie because we can't fit you in the car. Um If anything happens, you need to start walking this way and it was hard to stop for me. And I was, yeah. And as you know, like in

00:03:07.850 - 00:03:19.789

the stone house, all the fire, all the trees and stuff over there, it was just like all of that was on fire and I was thinking, oh my goodness, like which way do we go? So, um there was smoke and then the breakers were like popping

00:03:19.800 - 00:03:31.949

and it was just like this crazy thing. And so we sat there and we waited, I had a cell phone which I thought was really odd because you're not supposed to have phones and um like, you know, treatment. But uh she gave me her cell phone

00:03:31.960 - 00:03:43.830

and said we're gonna call you and tell you after we do this drop off, um that we're either gonna pick you up or you're gonna have to meet us somewhere and we're like, ok, and real quick, where was the drop off? Where were people getting dropped

00:03:43.839 - 00:03:58.740

off at? Well, so we didn't know at first. So it ended up being the fairgrounds. So they actually just stopped at a random, um, like parking lot and they started kind of like getting people out and then going back for the second round of people or

00:03:58.750 - 00:04:13.119

we were the last round. Yeah. So the second round. Ok. Ok. So then, so she ended up making contact with us and said that I'm on my way and we're like, great, perfect. So we waited and we got a car and I remember we were in

00:04:13.130 - 00:04:26.589

the car. I said to her, what is, what is going on? Because it, it seemed like a war zone. We didn't have any contact with anybody on the outside because we were in treatment. We had no access to news or anything. So we were going, well,

00:04:26.600 - 00:04:40.920

what's going on, right. And Sylvia had put on the radio and she was kind of listening to whatever was being broadcast and she says to me, you need to call home. And I said, what are you talking about? And she was like coffee parks on fire.

00:04:40.929 - 00:04:55.619

I said that's impossible. I love Coffee Park because I was born and raised there. I was like, that's impossible. She goes, I'm serious. So I used her phone and I called my daughter and my daughter lives on 1978 Dogwood Drive right in the heart of right

00:04:55.630 - 00:05:08.279

by the park. And my daughter is screaming bloody murder on the phone. And II I was caught off guard by it and we were losing kind of contact on the phone. And I said, what is going on? She says the house is burning down. She was

00:05:08.290 - 00:05:22.385

in it, my gosh. Yeah. So I said, what do you mean the house is burning down? Like, what are you talking about? And she said as she described it, flame throwers were coming through the house like there was just gusts of wind and, and fire coming

00:05:22.394 - 00:05:36.089

through. And so by the time they opened up the garage door, all the fire was coming in. So luckily her, her dad got in the car and they kind of made their way out of there. Um, and she got to a safe place but her house,

00:05:36.100 - 00:05:56.359

her car, all of our belongings, anything I had from treatment, our pets, everything had perished in the fire. Oh, my gosh, Stephanie, I had no idea. Yeah. So I'm so sorry. It was really, really hard. And so we ended up over at the vets building and

00:05:56.369 - 00:06:11.920

we kind of weathered out the night, right? 3 to 6789 started kind of getting some idea of what was going on. The sky was full of smoke. Um, everybody was on cos it was just that house and I was, I was of course, needing to get

00:06:11.929 - 00:06:23.779

Luna back. Right. So I couldn't leave because of cps and I didn't really know what I was supposed to do next because she would have been adopted out if I didn't stay. Ok. So I was kind of like, oh my God, what do we do? So

00:06:24.290 - 00:06:41.619

we ended up getting moved to the fairgrounds and we got cops out there and we kind of sat in the corner and it was really, really difficult. The task workers came and started releasing certain people. Of course, they didn't, of course they didn't release me. And

00:06:41.630 - 00:07:01.239

Sylvie said if I left that, I probably won't make it back. So they made a decision for me to stay. It was insane while we were there, there was people from all over the county, from anywhere from like hospitals to elder elderly hospitals. Um, anything in

00:07:01.250 - 00:07:14.399

between and we were all kind of lumped into the same spot. And, um, over time, like my daughter, she was having a really, really hard time. She went into a really deep depression because all of her stuff was gone. It was really traumatic. Plus I was

00:07:14.410 - 00:07:32.970

in treatment. And how was your, how old was your daughter when this happened? Um, she was, what was she? 20? She's 20. Ok. Yeah. Well, how long ago was the start? 2017. So, yeah. So she was actually a little younger than that. Like 19. Ok. Yeah.

00:07:33.429 - 00:07:46.239

So, um, you know, she came and visited me at the fairgrounds and then she had said something to me that was pretty profound. In fact, Eric and Cynthia were working that night. And she says, I said, should I leave? You know, should I leave? And then

00:07:46.250 - 00:07:57.890

like, try to figure things out. She says, I'll figure what out everything is gone. And she says, oh, if you lose my sister, we'll literally have nothing. Yeah. And I was like, oh my gosh. So when she said that to me, it was like this really

00:07:57.899 - 00:08:14.450

profound moment in my recovery where I was like, I am going to stay in the most powerless situation I've ever been in and I'm gonna do what's right? Even when I don't really understand that, right. It was really, really hard. And um and of course, like

00:08:14.459 - 00:08:31.339

seven days in Sylvie realized that it became a high risk situation. Um We kind of went back to the stone house once we kind of had an idea what was going on with the fires. And luckily the stone house wasn't affected but all the surrounding areas,

00:08:31.350 - 00:08:44.500

brush creek and all that stuff were, but we were able to kind of go in and get all the, you know, groceries and all that other stuff out, throw it away and start shopping and start rebuilding. But it was um a lot of girls came back

00:08:44.510 - 00:09:01.900

so they were invited back and, you know, a lot of them did use. And so we had to, we had to go through that we had to, you know, confront some of those hard truths and then um start rebuilding. Ok. Wow, Stephanie, I had, I, I

00:09:01.909 - 00:09:18.739

had no idea that's such a powerful story that you just shared with me. Thank you. You're welcome. Yeah, it was crazy. I mean, yeah, that just, that's, and so one of my questions was, is how are you managing or coping from this experience? I mean, obviously

00:09:18.750 - 00:09:35.159

like this is you, you talked about being completely powerless and whatnot. How are you, how does it sit with you now? So since then the house has been rebuilt and in fact, my granddaughter lives there now. Ok. Yeah. So my daughter, you know, she, she got

00:09:35.169 - 00:09:49.349

into a relationship and it didn't work out, but my daughter had built this resilience, right? She had been through a lot and now my little granddaughter where um that was where her mom was born and raised and now the baby is um living there and they

00:09:49.359 - 00:10:06.130

have a nicer house. It's built two story, it's all brand new coffee park is rebuilding. I'm there pretty much every other day. Um And even though it was really, really dramatic and at that time, we couldn't really understand um the way that it was rebuilt and

00:10:06.140 - 00:10:20.710

the way the community stepped up and helped, I mean, it really turned out to be a, a great story. I know that's not the truth for everybody but for us, I mean, it really did help us to level up. It was great. No, that's, that's, I

00:10:20.719 - 00:10:38.320

mean, right there how you said that to level up. Yeah, there's like a third in a two story house. My daughter has a big walk in closet. You know, she's got AAA cute little daughter. Um, and she's rebuilt her life and so, I mean, it, it

00:10:38.330 - 00:10:50.559

kind of worked out in the long run but during the time of course, we could have foreseen that. It was really scary. Well, sure. Yeah, you were in the thick of it then and then, um, one of the questions that I was just curious about too

00:10:50.570 - 00:11:12.020

is, um, it's one of these questions. Can you tell me about any strengths that you have discovered through this experience? Um, well, so resilience, of course. Um, yeah, I, I definitely think that, um, confronting fears was something that I really learned because, um, everything about that

00:11:12.030 - 00:11:26.580

with the tanks and everything was really scary and to be able to stay in a spot. Um, and, and have direction and guidance from people I trust and to just really confront what's going on and still wanting to do what I'm supposed to do for the

00:11:26.590 - 00:11:43.530

greater good. That was a huge lesson for me. That is huge. Yeah. So then like when there's natural disasters and stuff, I still get PTSD. But the way I handle it is a lot different than I would have before. Ok. Well, yeah, I can't even imagine

00:11:43.969 - 00:12:04.070

so. Suffering from PTSD. Wow, that's incredible. Yeah. And my daughter's the same way. So, like, even when everything didn't work out with her husband, my daughter went right into action and instead of being a victim, she was like, I need therapy, I need him to go

00:12:04.080 - 00:12:18.510

away. I need this to be safe. And I thought to myself, well, she learned a lot in the fires as well because, um, she definitely wasn't going down to that whole, like, I'm going to keep doing what's harming me. You know, she was like, I have

00:12:18.520 - 00:12:34.190

to do something different with this. Right. So, that was a really blessing for me too because her resilience was amazing. That's huge. Yeah, that was really big. That's absolutely incredible. And then real quick, I just want to jump back real quick when you said the tank.

00:12:34.200 - 00:12:52.940

So, what is that, that when you saw all of them coming in, like all the reinforcements and stuff? So their, their spot was actually the fairgrounds. And so they built up that whole entire area to be, um, for the army. Um, with the, the tanks were

00:12:52.950 - 00:13:06.580

there, all of the firemen from across the way. Um, all the States, everybody was there and we were kind of like stuck in the middle of that and, you know, we did know that there were some fires they were still burning and they were still going,

00:13:06.820 - 00:13:22.900

we knew that our community had been devastated. We didn't really understand the magnitude because we were isolated. Right. But we can hear it on the radio and different things. But it was definitely bizarre. Wow. Yeah, because you're trying to get clean, you know, and you're like,

00:13:22.909 - 00:13:38.849

wait, the whole world's ending. Like, I gotta go, like, every instinct in my addict instinct I wanted to leave. But I stayed, of course they did. Exactly. Yeah, because I mean, with how we are, I mean, that's like literally like a golden ticket. You know what

00:13:38.859 - 00:13:52.250

I mean? If there's, if there's any excuse in the world, this would have been an absolute like, you know, the perfect excuse and yet you, you stuck, stuck it through and you walk through this and where you're at today. It's just, it's a huge miracle and

00:13:52.260 - 00:14:10.020

God has his fingers all through this. Like, it's, it's absolutely amazing. It was so amazing and eloise was right by my side throughout that whole thing. And, you know, I didn't quite understand it, but the support that I had developed, I trusted them and it was

00:14:10.030 - 00:14:22.539

just one of those things like, let's just be still and see what the next right move is. And that was something I had gained as a skill set too is just not being reactive just sitting with it and understanding that like, what is the next right

00:14:22.549 - 00:14:36.599

move with this? Right. Absolutely. And then so you brought up eloise. So going through this whole period of time, so you had eloise as support and then I'm assuming that also with your daughter, was, was there anyone else that was there for, to provide you with

00:14:36.609 - 00:14:52.000

support or stability in a sense? So I will always give credit to the stonehouse where it's due. And Sylvia and Cynthia were definitely my pillar of strength because they were just as terrified. They were leaving their house and they were coming and they were staying with

00:14:52.010 - 00:15:11.099

us around the clock. We had a staff member with us at all times and, and they were so supportive. Um, and, and I was really grateful for them. Ok. Wow, that's amazing. Yeah, my daughter didn't have the support. That was really heartbreaking because, um, you know,

00:15:11.109 - 00:15:27.270

our house burned down and she, she was able to move to her grandma's house. But when it came to like professional support and stuff like that, it was kind of hard to find. So she leaned on us a lot for our program. Wow, that's incredible. Yeah,

00:15:27.280 - 00:15:43.719

I'm actually gonna be, um, interviewing Sylvia this week too and also Natalie as well. So, yeah, I mean, just not only do we walk the path together but to get this information and to know another layer, you know about you, it's, it's a true gift and

00:15:43.729 - 00:15:57.979

I really appreciate it, Stephanie. Yeah. Absolutely. It's, it's crazy because we were all like Natalie. Poor thing she was doing exactly what we're supposed to do when we get a treatment. Right. We're volunteering and she was left in a really bad position. I'm so glad that

00:15:57.989 - 00:16:10.530

you're gonna interview her. Yeah. Yeah. And, and she's actually the one, she's the one that gave me, um, you as a reference. She's like, I'll also talk to Stephanie too about this because that's amazing. Yeah. Like I said, like I was trying to feel out who

00:16:10.539 - 00:16:26.140

I can ask him and also loca too, she's gonna be also another person that I speak to. Um So yeah, so definitely, um getting all, all of the information here from you guys and just the sisterhood, I mean, just, you know, such a blessing. And then

00:16:26.150 - 00:16:40.599

real quick too. I, I was just looking at my notes with the whole evacuation process. So you guys were going out in vans and then were you helping the other clients? Like you guys were working together or? Well, so we had our flashlights and then Sylvie

00:16:40.609 - 00:16:52.929

gave us the phone, but really we kind of were like sitting ducks because highway 12 you couldn't come in and out. Another good person that you might want to talk to is because she was in charge of the whole entire sle. Oh, wow. Oh, that's a

00:16:52.940 - 00:17:07.479

great, that's a great know. Yeah. And she had to move everybody out and she also had to have them stay with us at the fairgrounds and that was really hard for her because she just started managing the Elite. Oh, no kidding. Oh, that's terrific. Yeah. So

00:17:07.489 - 00:17:21.469

we all kind of work together and, you know, um, there was babies and all kinds of things happening and we were just like, oh, my God, there's so much going on, so much going on and, I mean, you can't, you can't even prepare for this, even

00:17:21.479 - 00:17:35.989

if you knew something like this was gonna happen. There's no way to prepare for everything that you guys came across and you know, and endured. It's just, yeah, it was in such a time and she's so amazing because her and Cynthia were like, ok, so this

00:17:36.000 - 00:17:49.834

is getting to the point at the fairgrounds where it's getting toxic and so we're going to leave and we're going to make, you know, they made hard choices for us and they did the right thing to leave because the environment wasn't, wasn't stabilized, safe for recovery

00:17:49.844 - 00:18:05.375

anymore because after people started realizing that they were giving away free stuff, we started having, you know, people that are active addiction coming and trying to get stuff and you know, being in our environment and we just started kind of getting enclosed by that and Sylvia

00:18:05.385 - 00:18:19.050

was like, ok, so it's time to go back to this house. Yeah. Wow. I just, yeah, on so many different levels you just bring in the light. So many things that I, I just hadn't thought about, you know, because my experience is so different than yours,

00:18:19.060 - 00:18:33.579

you know. So, it's just really interesting to hear about this more, you know, and all the different, like, you know, levels and whatnot that's involved. So, once again, thank you so much for all of this. This is, this is so much insight on this. Yeah. No

00:18:33.589 - 00:18:46.000

problem. I think that it's, it's been a long time and I'm actually kind of glad we're talking about it because it's, it's funny how we just kind of get busy with regular life and we forget, but that was a really big chapter in my life. And,

00:18:46.390 - 00:19:00.479

um, I'm so glad that I was at the stonehouse, honestly. Right. And then look, look at where you're at today and that you were able to walk through all this. Yeah. I mean, I, I, I'm an alcohol and drug counselor and I just got certified through

00:19:00.489 - 00:19:15.819

the state and I graduated from the JC and, and it just goes to show like, how important our program is for all of us. Right. And congratulations on all of that that you've done. That's so amazing. Stephanie, thank you. You through COVID and everything. So when

00:19:15.829 - 00:19:31.800

COVID came as scary as it was, I was like, oh, no, we can do this. Right. You're like, I got this, I, I'm gonna fill my time with school. Great. There we go. That's one way to do it. Right. Mhm. Well, that's awesome. That's awesome. Stephanie.

00:19:31.810 - 00:19:44.780

Thank you so much for the information. I definitely, I definitely have a lot to work with and um I appreciate your time and then um I will also hit you up, I'll send you a text to get your um email and I'll send over that document

00:19:44.790 - 00:19:57.449

for you to sign and I think text it to you. Ok. That's fine. That would be great. That would be terrific. And then, um and yeah, and I think that's it on my end. If I think of anything else, I'll either give you a call or

00:19:57.459 - 00:20:09.540

shoot you a text. But I mean, this is a lot more information than I thought. So I really appreciate your time and, and you being open and willing to share this with me. Yeah, if you need anything like a picture of the before and after of

00:20:09.550 - 00:20:24.400

the house or anything, I could definitely send you that because that was crazy too. Yeah. Yeah. No, anything, anything is helpful. Anything is helpful so perfect. All right. Well, thank you so much, Stephanie. I really appreciate it. Hopefully I'll be able to see your beautiful face

00:20:24.410 - 00:20:36.239

sometime soon. Yeah, hopefully I'm, I try to get out but I'm pretty with no. Oh, trust me, I get it. I got my five year old. That's why it took me a little while to give you a phone call.