A message from Helen

Aloha friends and family. Howdy neighbors. Hello folks I've yet to meet. I see it has gotten around the universe that my house, my home that i've been working on for nearly half of my life burned to the ground last thursday. I lost every material thing i had. What I did not lose was my life, my dogs and you. You my loved ones, the greatest thing I have ever had is you. The outpouring of love and support from you has been overwhelming. I feel sooo lucky and so blessed to have you. I feel your love warming me. I hear your words of kindness. I am soaking in your belief in me and your knowing that I will get through this. Even though I will be 50 years old this year and I'm not as handy with a chainsaw or a ladder as i used to be, your knowing I will get through this makes me know it too, because i have you! I LOVE YOU ALL! Today I go camping on my hill. 2009 is the new 1987.
Thank you Thank you Thank you!!! Helen

Earlier pictures

Thursday March 26th-Images

Wednesday March 25

Kate Lambdin here to post what is up as of March 25th. Helen is staying at Peg and Ron's. Right now we are in to collecting money to build a new home for Helen. If you have household items that you would like to donate just put them into a box, write down what is in there and sit it in some out of the way spot in your house. Helen is homeless. She is not going to temporarily rent a place, and so until she rebuilds she does not have room for any extraneous stuff. Once you have it boxed up send the list of what you have to; aler58@yahoo.com. Please remember that everyone has lots of extra stuff and Helen has so many friends that she may not want all the extra stuff people have to give her. She will be camping up on her hill and so stainless steel cookware and unbreakable dishware would be great. Right now Helen needs the following:

Good quality TOOLS (garden & building)
Ropes
2 dog kennels (crates) made of plastic or fiberglass-a large one for a big yellow lab and small crate for a dog under 20 lbs
Cinder blocks
Plywood
Extension cords
Lanterns
Tivec building wrap
TARPS
Wheelbarrow

So, when you donate something, please post it on this site and Helen will also post donations so people don't double up too much. Building materials would be great to donate, but as you know, you may not want to build a house from a hodgepodge collection of stuff. So, write what you have and my guess is if it is 2 x 6's or 2 x anything Helen will want it.

Saturday March 21

Hello everyone- You may not know Helen Hervey. She's a Clevelander who worked the restaurant scene to save enough money to buy a bit of land in WVa in the 80's. Primarily with materials from the land and the help of friends she built a home. Fifteen years ago a fall left her with a spinal cord injury. She uses a wheel chair full time and has made her home entirely wheel chair accessible.
A few days ago, on March 19th, the home she worked decades to build burned to the ground. Her home was heated by a wood burning stove. A spark from the stove started a fire that culminated in the loss of everything except her two dogs and her own life. She lost her two cats & all her material possessions: her photographs, books, artwork, correspondence, cash on hand, tools, bedding, pots, pans-everything that makes up a home and a life.

Helen needs to rebuild. She needs help. Any assistance in any form - money, building materials/tools or household goods is welcome.
Thank you.

Friday March 20th

Family, Friends, Allies, Loved Ones and Admirers of Helen Hervey,

As you know by now Helen has suffered an unspeakable tragedy.  On Thursday March 19th 2009 a fire in her wood stove burned her home to the ground.

Helen and her dogs are safe. Her cats did not survive. Her home and all of her belongings are lost.

The grief and loss that Helen is facing is profound, almost inconceivable. This is the home that has been hers for decades. The home that she built with her own tools and hands and loved ones. These are the belongings that constructed and expressed the amazing life she has created. It is all gone. All of it.

Everything that matters most to Helen in the world including her autonomy and her privacy has been shaken by this horrifying event.

Helen understands that love is an action verb. It is something that you do, give, manifest, create. Anyone who knows Helen knows that she has an incredible ability to love. Helen loves freely generously and unconditionally. With her abundance she has created more life, more love & more joy than she could know.

There is a gift for all of us in this horrific trauma. It is the opportunity to give back to someone who gives so freely but has a painfully difficult time receiving. An account has been set up so that we can all pool our resources to make sure that Helen has all the material things that she will need to begin again. All of us, including Helen, know that she has the incredible inner resources she will need to survive and thrive.

We cannot spare Helen the journey ahead but we can make sure she has everything she needs as she faces it.

Thank you in advance for taking this chance to mirror back to Helen what she gives every day without trying.