REDDING, Calif., Aug. 19, 2018 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- In
Redding, Calif., a team of three
Liberty University students and one
staff member have done more than meet the physical needs of
residents and first responders affected by the one of the largest
fires in state history. The team members have also offered a
shoulder to cry on or a listening ear.
"We've gone right up to the sites of homes that have been
completely destroyed," said Holly
Griswold, associate director of LU Send Now. "It is sad and
sobering for these residents. They have lost everything, even the
little things they will discover from day-to-day moving forward,
like when they go to brush their teeth and there's no toothbrush or
realizing they have no other clothes to change into. More
importantly, they are looking in the ashes for keepsakes that
represent memories or family heirlooms — it's hard, they are
processing what just happened."
The team, which was dispatched by LU Send Now, the university's
disaster relief initiative, arrived in California on Aug.
12 and will return on Sunday. They are working with the
Billy Graham Rapid Response Team (RRT) to help provide food and
water to relief workers, assist with medical response, and pray
with fire victims.
The Carr Fire began in mid-July and has displaced 30,000 people,
destroyed more than 1,000 residences, and killed eight people. As
of Friday morning, the fire was 75 percent contained. Griswold said
in the short time they've been there, the team has spoken with
nearly 75 residents.
"Many just want to talk about what they've experienced," she
said. "They're grieving. We had one resident stop us and ask if he
could eat lunch with us and talk. There was another who waved down
our car as we were driving. We talked to a police officer who lost
his home and has been living in his Jeep."
Griswold said it has been a joy to work alongside the RRT and be
able to bring hope to those struggling to cope with the
tragedy.
"LU Send Now has thus far existed as humanitarian disaster
relief," she said. "As we meet tangible needs, this year we're also
providing trips that primarily focus on psychological and spiritual
aid for emotional support. Both are so important in the healing
process and complement each other."
LU Send Now mobilizes students and staff to respond to immediate
needs nationally and abroad. Over the past academic year, teams
were dispatched for relief work in Puerto
Rico following Hurricane Maria's devastation as well as to
other areas affected by deadly hurricanes, including Texas and the Caribbean. Liberty
recently provided shelter and supplies locally to flood
victims.
SOURCE Liberty University