Hick man family they lost their home and everything inside in the north bay fires. They didnt have renter insurance, and didnt know where they were going to live. Finding a new home took time and a little help. Its fair to say the hickmans are still setting in, they moved into this house after spending weeks answer hotel and things will take a little getting used to. Black friday purchase. The table is a hand me down. Home looks a little different now. Virtually everything is new or donated. There has been an immense amount of support for family and friends and just the community in general. A lot of donated appliances. Nine years home was north of town. Tucked in the hills it was their is he clouded retreat. The fires secluded retreat. The fires came quick. A normal night turned into a race to escape the flames. You could see it through the trees. The wind was screaming through the trees. Making me nervous. It was like this that night. They will never forget that night after a family dinner with their two children already tucked in their beds. The howling wind and that deadly fire came on so fast. As i came around the corner and saw that, i saw through the trees a wall of orange. It made your heart skip a moment and a sound i dont think i will ever forget hearing the winds whipping going, just seeing that and i sprinted up the hill and they were on the phone with 911. 911 call was at 9 41ment victoria was supposed to be asleep but she was they liked to look out their bedroom window, she said mom there is an orange glow out the window. I went into the bathroom and pulled back the curtain and i just saw a wall of orange. They couldnt escape down their driveway because a tree had fallen so they use add fire road. Didnt have time to grab anything, we had to leave our cat behind, there was an outdoor cat. Left her car behind a lot of things broke just right for us to get out of there in the timing that we did. By morning they knew they couldnt go back and since then theyve been trying to move forward. For dan hickman that meant finding a new home. That wednesday right after the fire started i jumped on craigslist and started looking. He found this one, it was still being renovated but he applied right away. He knew they werent the only ones facing a long road of recovery. Even our first day coming in actually looking at this property with the owner he made reference to having received numerous phone call from Third Party Insurance companies and the like who are looking to replace this for other victims of the fire to be able to put them up while their homes are being rebuilt. Finding homes was half the battle. The hick january mans enjoyed a low fixed ren and this home cost more. Family members offered to help, but making the numbers work took some work. And thats where the chronical season of sharing fund stepped in providing temporary assistance to people in need in the bay area and it paid the hickmans first month rent. Our new rent payment is basically double what we were paying before. Having one month taken care of, thats a pretty sizeable chunk. And that over the next year that makes this place this place much more affordable for us. As they build this new home they are grateful for the help that continues to come in. The bunk bed mangled by fire in the childrens old room has been replaced. The two kids had 0 to share a room before, now they have separate spaces. Their 12yearold daughter victoria has a pic carpet. Her bed came from up in lake county. Her dresser and the book shelf came from friends in concord. 6yearold brother alex sleeps on a bed bought with gift cards. This is a bed. He plays at a table full of donated legos. We had a mountain of legos at the old house. And he has been getting donations from people, that was one of the things to try to get him back to normal. And the Christmas Tree is already up. Decorated by ornaments that have come from family, friends an even strangers, and the train, its right where it should be. New train set, train was really important for our son, he loves trains. And while there are of course thing that cant be replaced. This is were our toasting gone let from our wedding. Yeah. One of the thing things that she found. Those two eiffel tower were on the property. The orange one is all rusted because of the fire. The hick mans say they feel lucky, lucky after searching for almost two months their cat finally made it it to a neighbors house. December 1stthat morning i checked my Facebook Page and there it was from my neighbor posted a picture of a cat. She made it and i wasnt expecting to be able to see her again. And lucky to celebrate the season in a home that was literally built with the generosity and support of countless people. A house that reminds them even on the tough days that they arent alone. The people coming out of the wood work that maybe we never thought of, penal that have done major donations for us in one way or another, whether its been money, gift cards. Physical things. This is becoming home, this year truly thankful for everything and how its all gone down. And, i mean, as much as losing everything in house is a tragedy, i feel like our family is stronger for it. The hick january mans are great full for the help they received and trying to give back. Michelle spends a lot of time making sure that the donations that come into the area get to the people who need them. She focused on areas that may not have received as much attentions a others. When we come back a woman says a referral for help sat in the bottom of a drawer for years until she realized she had nowhere else to turn. How the chronical season of sharing fund stepped in to he heres your receipt. Have a nice day thank you. Start the car start the car start the car start the car the ikea winter sale. Wooooooo get up to 50 off select items. Now through january 10th. Ikea. Actually, the biggest dinos only ate plants muum dinosaurs only eat meat and country crock is made with plants. Country crock has always been made with the goodness of plants. It has real, simple ingredients. And the same Country Fresh taste you love. Welcome to crock country. Welcome back to bay area people. In operation for more than 30 years, so often agencies who see people in need housing, and emergency medical equipment pass on the information about how to apply. One woman in the east by says someone referred her to season of sharing fund a few years ago. She found herself answer difficult spot and that referral turned out to be just what she needed. New life, new hope to all he brings us. Loving to sing. Tired, you know, i went to San FranciscoState University in the Music Department so music is a part of my life. Part of how she always stays positive. Admits last may got scary. Her landlord told hershey had to move and the 0 days to do it. And i had been living in my home for 13 years. It was an abrupt change. It was kind of devastating. I recently had hip surgery and i was recovering from a total hip replacement. And so i just had to dig down deep and get the job done. She was optimistic she could get the job done, she learned that from her family. The youngest of 12. This is my papa. This is my mom. And a single mother of two. This is my son anthony he graduated from berkeley high. Watson has faced challenges before. I gave birth to a child ha had spinal bifida, that was another road, a twist in my life where i focused the majority of my attention on helping her to be the best that she could be. And so when she faced the prospect of finding a new home, she says, she just went full steam ahead. I was going on faith, i didnt know where i was going to move. But i begun to seek. It took about a month to find this apartment and then she had another hurdle to climb. The Security Deposit was more than she had and she wasnt sure what she was going to do, then she remembered a referral given to her years ago. I remember keeping that referral, it was a referral of if you needed help in housing, if you needed help with a lawyer, just a referral of good things. The chronical season of sharing fund was on that list. Helping people in need of short term assistance with rent and housing is what the fund is designed to do. And it couldnt have come at a better time. Season of sharing was there for me and that door opened and i walked right through it. In august, watson moved into her new home. The stairs are not ideal with her disability and they prohibit her daughter from visiting, you wont hear her complain. Now, i look at my life as my glass being half full, never half empty. Never. She says the chronical season of sharing fund helped renew an apt him she has for life filled with family, joy, music and hope. There is someone out there that will be able to help you if you just keep your options open. Keep your mind clear. You know, and do things to help people and good things just come your way. Watson says she is looking forward to spending christmas with her children and settling in to her new home. Stay with us, when bay area people returns, the story a young mother who thought everything was going well until she started experiencing mysterious pain in her side. How that pain lead her down a rough road and how the chronical season sharing of fund and her faith kept her on the right fast. I seen the envelope from season of sharing welcome back to bay area people. Sometimes it just takes one thing to throw us off track. We feel like everything is planned out and we are in good shape and then the unexpected happens. You see that when people get injured or get sick. That is exactly what happened to a young single working mother from the east bay. It was an experience that had her turning to her faith and the chronical season of sharing fund. As melody nichols decorate for christmas they know there is a lot to be thankful for. Its been a rough road. I would have to say that this was a huge humbling process for me. Nichols is a single mom. A registered dental assistant and is active in her church. And back in june, things were looking good. She was planning to move with her son and had taken on a temporary position, she started having some pain in her lower right side and doctors couldnt figure out what was causing it. They just kept running tests telling me everything was normal. And during that time it was really painful for me. She leaned on her friend from church and family. But the pain just got worse. Soy won to the emergency room, and they did a ct scan and ransom more tests and they told me that everything was fine, that maybe i had an ulcer, they were going to refer me to a specialist to check in with my doctor. And my test results came back normal. The ct scan came back fine. It was really frustrating. I knew something was wrong, they kept telling me everything is okay. And then one day when the pain was once again unbearable. So i went to the emergency room, back to the emergency room i originally went to and a doctor rushed in and basically let me know that the night that i had came in the radiologist was on board the person that reads the ct scan, so they sent my ct scan out to another hospital and it was misread. They basically let me know they had to rush knee into emergency surgery, maia pen particular was on the verge of recovery took time and her temporary job didnt provide sick time or disability. And during this time it was very difficult because im single mom, i am the only one that provides mow me and my son. I didnt have any source of income coming in. I came to a point where i was stressed out, wondering how am i going to pay my rent, get bills paid in the house. She went by the Welfare Office but told even in her desperate situation she didnt qualify for government help. But the man helping her didnt give up. He left and i remember sitting at the desk and then he came back and he told me i have good news for you, he told me about season of sharing. Nichols never heard about the chronical season of sharing fund started in 1986 to help families in crisis. She filled out the paperwork and waited for a call. And i never got the phone call. So then when i didnt get the call i was thinking, okay, i didnt get approved. So then i really started stressing out. And rent was almost due and i know what i was going to do. And i went to check my mail and i was on the phone with one of the sisters from my church and i seen the envelope from season of sharing. And i was like oh, my gosh. And then we prayed really fast. I opened it and it said i was approved i remember like crying and praising god and thanking him for providing. The season sharing of fund got her over that rough spot. Today she is ready to celebrate the holidays. I was in a time of need, coy think about it, im like wow, there is probably people out there that are going through worse than what i did. Melody is doing well now and recovered. She is working again and planning her move to Southern California for a new opportunity with her church. She says she is excited to start this new chapter in her life. When we come back, a single father who knows how hard it can be to make ends meet. He was forced to find a new home not once, but twice all while dealing with an injury. How the chronical season of sharing fund helped him finally get settled with his children. Circumstances welcome back to bay area people. Our last chronical season of sharing fund story about a single father of five has been down a bumpy road dealing with an injury and unpredictable Housing Market that forced him to find a new place to live more than once. We met joshua perez in pit president , he is still in the process of unpacking and getting settled. I have five children, ages 20, 18, 15, 12 and 8. I was a teen father, you know. All my kids are, you know, im thankful that they are healthy, you know, they are really active. You know in the community. He says he feels lucky these days, grateful he is working a new job. Work is going well. I started working with a Framing Company in San Francisco. And happy that this house seems to be such a good fit for him and his kid is. But he only has to look at a scar that runs down his leg to be reminded how quickly things can change. Yeah, bone was shattered into a bunch of pieces. That is why there are so many cruise. I was on a ladder and i fell off, i just so happen to have bone spurs in my ankle. It was in that it wasnt that far of a fall but far enough to like the bone spurs caused my tibia to shatter. I need add plate and 20 something screws. The injury alone was serious and when you consider his line of work, you know exactly how devastating a fall can really be. Im a union carpenter, carpenters local 217, i have bumper to bumper in the union for about 15 years. I have been doing Construction Since i was 18. Perez was on disability for eight months as he recovered life took an unex emergencied turn, his landlord decided to sell the property he had lived in for years and had he to find a new place to live. We moved into a house here and i thought we were in the clear. By then resources were low and it wasnt just about finding a place, it was also about finding enough money for Security Deposit. I was really short on the Security Deposit and i had no idea how i was going to make that happen. I heard about season of sharing, and they put me in contact with. The First Baptist church is part of the chronical season of sharing fund. The chronical works with Community Groups an donors to help perez get through these rough spots. He didnt think he would actually get it. They sent me a letter in the mail. And saying that we are going to pay x amount of dollars towards your landlord and with that letter i showed the landlord, it was fine with her. And that really made it possible for us to move in here, which was really nice house. These days he still is not fully recovered. He may need another surgery but to be honest he doesnt want to do it while he has work. He has the odded bonus of having a sun working with him. He says he is always planning for the long term it. It can happen overnight, really. Circumstances can change and housing is one of those things that can throw your life into disaway, especially when have you children, you have responsibilities that you need to meet. Its not just me and my family struggles, so many people i know are struggling with housing. Every time that leg aches, he says he is reminded to prepare for life unexpected terms. It was frightening because my life i will hood is made working physically. So that was all put in jeopardy for a long time. And eventually i went back to work. You know, i still, you know, am experiencing a lot of pain around it, you know, its caused me to really rethink what i want to do with the rest of my career. Perez says he is grateful to be working right now but also taking classes in Civil Engineering to see if he can advance his career into an area with less physical demands and more stability. He is pushing his kids to work hard in school so they will have more opportunities in the future. And the season of sharing fund is always accepting donations and help. One hundred percent of their donations goes to the recipients thanks to grants of the evelyn and walter junior fund and the chronical. Our one warm coat drive is still on going, the National Campaign is celebrating its 25th season with a goal to warm those across the united states. We are halfway through that drive, numbers in the bay area 3000 coats have been collected so far. You can donate any new orientally worn caught santa in a road and walnut creek. Bins at participating ups and big o tire stores. That is going to do it for our show, check out our stories at ktvu look for the bay area people page, can you always find us on facebook, we post lots of Great Stories there. Well see you next time right here on bay area people. Heres your receipt. Have a nice day thank you. Start the car start the car start the car start the car the ikea winter sale. Wooooooo get up to 50 off select items. Now through january 10th. Ikea. Year. We will show you the new Year Celebrations along the San Francisco waterfront. Starting today, new laws take effect across the state. We will take you live to a local cannabis dispensary. As the sale of Recreational Marijuana is illegal in california. Happy new year. It is a brand new year, 2018, january 1. In a bit early, as pam cook is enjoying the day off. Have a 2018, did i say it correctly, my goodness. A look at what is happening outside of our doors this morning. 2017 in 2018, not a lot of change. There is a look at the visibility where we are waking up with a little bit of fog this morning. Partly to mostly cloudy skies and temperatures are cool. We have the visibility about 3 miles over at livermore. Nothing out there just yet. We have 43 degrees to start your morning in santa rosa. Temperatures are up over areas like napa and santa rosa. Today is a spare the air day. In extended forecast recovery coming back to the eric area for the