8 men on the road to recovery after losing home, sober living facility in a fire
8 men on the road to recovery after losing home, sober living facility in a fire
Police say within a hour of the post being up, someone reported a sighting. New Tonight- 8 men who lost their home in a fire are now on the road to recovery. vlog first brought you this breaking news last night. Around 7-oh-clock last night, firefighters responded to the house on 11th Street near the Carpenter Avenue intersection. Tonight, vlog's Pepper Purpura is live from where the effort to support those men is underway. Pepper- that house was more than a place to live. That's correct Ben, that house was an addiction recovery living facility. The eight men who lived there are all rebuilding their lives now that they're sober. TOday we talked with the people that run the program, about this loss and the support they're receiving to help the residents bounce back. <nats from by the house> <jessie goodwin 05;16;27;23 "STAY SOBER, STAY PRODUCTIVE, GO TO WORK, YOU'RE GOING TO BE JUST FINE" > that's what Jesse Goodwin and Jimmie Bridges have been preaching since they learned the 8 men that used to live here were losing their home. < 05;10;24;29 "I RECEIVED A PHONE CALL THAT THERE WAS A FIRE AT THE RESIDENCE, AND, WE RUSHED OVER HERE"> The Des Moines Fire Department says all three people inside at the time escaped unharmed. But the porch and front of the home are both badly burned. Smoke damage is visible throughout the rest of the house. The fire's cause and extent of damage are still under the investigation. But Goodwin and Bridges say they know the residents have lost a lot. < 05;12;12;20 "ALL OF THEIR PERSONAL BELONGINGS, ANYTHING THAT THEY HAD, THE VALUE, THEY WOULD HAVE HAD HERE. THIS WAS THEIR HOME." > leaving them both concerned about how the fire is impacting the group - < 05;16;14;02 "THEY'RE IN THE MOST VULNERABLE SPOT IN THEIR LIVES TRYING TO GET THEIR LIFE BACK TOGETHER. SO ABSOLUTELY, IT'S GOING TO BE A HARD ROAD FOR THEM." > Goodwin and Bridges have found alternative homes for all 8 men, and now - < nat pop of her organizing donations> - the community is helping them replace what was lost. < 04;43;20;00" THE MAJORITY OF THIS, THERE WAS PROBABLY LIKE ONE TABLE BY NOON AND THE MAJORITY OF IT WAS A FLOOD THIS AFTER NOON" > - showing the men working to recover, some kindness in the face of a tragedy. Tomorrow, people can start dropping off donations here, at the RISE Recovery center on SW 9th St. They've already gotten a lot of clothing today and say hygiene and laundry items are the primary need now. THere have been multiple FAKE donation sites set up by people pretending to be victims of this fire, so if you do give, please ONLY use the websites you'll find linked under this story on the vlog site. You'll also find a more detailed list