All week, Imagine!’s Facebook page has been featuring “Flood Superheroes” – short stories about the ways Imagine! employees and others in our community have truly gone above and beyond to ensure the safety of other employees and of those we serve. I’ve compiled all the stories below. I’m sure these aren't all of the heroic actions undertaken by Imagine! employees and other Imagine! stakeholders this week, so feel free to share others with me in the comments section below.
Thanks to all of our flood superheroes!
Site Supervisor Michael Benz stayed at the office of Imagine!'s Manhattan Apartments from 7:00 am Thursday morning to Friday afternoon at 3:30 PM during the worst of the flooding to make sure everyone was ok. Even when he finally got a chance to take a break, he still offered to be on call in case of problems!
Tim Johnson, Chris Holder, and Matty Barnert, who work in Imagine!'s Innovations department administrative offices, ripped up carpet all day at two homes, ending up soaked head to toe in carpet soaked flood water.
Imagine! Board of Directors President Scott Doyen rolled up his sleeves and pitched in on the clean up at our Tenino St. home.
Site Supervisor Chantelle Tweeten stayed 36 hours at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, away from her young daughter and family, to ensure coverage and safety.
Site Supervisor Anna Knott worked crazy hours and spent the night at our 19th St. home to be on site in case - the “in case” happened when a stranded young man who receives foster care services from Imagine! was alone at the bus depot and needed a place to stay.
Site Supervisor Michael Sean Bradley ventured out to Wednesday night in flood waters to support a staff working alone at the significantly flooded Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, and stayed up 36 hours to support his staff and others.
Michael Puente drove for hours trying to find a route into Longmont so he could get to work.
Priyanka Giri, Site Supervisor at the Charles Family SmartHome in Longmont, knowing that once again EVERY route into Boulder was blocked (she drove Longmont to test routes), called her supervisor Friday night told her that her plan at 6 AM the next day was to have herself and her husband relieve the overnight staff members to ensure coverage.
Imagine! Foundation Board of Directors member Don Brown and his wife Karen opened their home to house a displaced live-in from one of Imagine!’s homes damaged by flooding.
Imagine! contractors and support staff members including Nate George, Mark Reeves, Kristin Conboy, Sara Good, Leah Gerstner, Mike Fischer, and Christian Glover rolled up their sleeves and did a great deal of work to protect our property, mitigate damage, and to begin clean up.
Michael Ulfstam worked a 20+hour shift when he got stranded in Boulder. He just kept working, put his own concerns aside and did everything he could to make sure our consumers were safe and well cared for.
Russ Christiansen, a newer staff member, was alone doing an overnight shift the first night of flooding. This was only his second overnight shift by himself. He followed protocols perfectly, and most impressive, he kept his calm and happy demeanor, no complaints, even in a strange and scary situation.
Matt Boren, who works at Imagine!’s Manhattan St. home, had his roommate drive him into flood waters to get to work. His commute took hours, and he had his roommate leave him in the middle of the street when he could not pass by car to attempt the final journey. Because the other overnight staff member is unable to work, Matt agreed to work 11 overnights in a row to make sure the shifts are covered. He is also working 2 extra days!
Dave Ruhter and Fred Osei: Dave tried for two hours to find an open route to Imagine!’s Foothills St. home on Friday morning and when he thought he might not be able to make it, he went back to his house and got his bike so he could ride in if he could not find a clear road. He also worked extra hours each day to ensure the house was covered and split his time between taking care of clients and bailing water in the basement even offering to stay all night to bail if we needed it. Fred Osei got to Boulder from Denver despite the floods and many closed roads and then worked 30+ hrs straight between Foothills and Boulder Charles Smart Home. Neither of them complained or needed breaks and both were rockstars through the whole process.
Shannon Bundy, who works at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome, worked straight from Friday afternoon to Monday at 3:30. Some of the shifts were overnights so she did get some sleep in, but that is still a tremendous amount of time to work!
Todd Discher, Imagine!’s Maintenance Supervisor, has been a rockstar this whole time. On Thursday and Friday, during the flooding, Todd drove to every Imagine! site to assess damage and meet the needs of the homes as best he could, sometimes cajoling police officers to let him pass through street closures so he could get to the homes. He was up at 3 AM Saturday morning, attending to an alarm that wouldn’t turn off. When not filling sand bags or tearing up soaked carpets, he has been on the phone trying to get damaged homes fixed and back on line as soon as possible.
Imagine!’s IT Director Kevin Harding was at the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome on Saturday, cleaning up and accessing damage to the home’s tech equipment, when he discovered the lights weren’t working in the home. Kevin went back to Imagine!’s office, got the SmartHome’s blueprints and electrical schematics, figured out what fix was needed, went to Home Depot to buy the needed parts, and fixed the lights!
Last Sunday, even with the rain still falling and the flooding in Boulder continuing, a group of Imagine! staff members and fantastic volunteers helped to clean out the flooded basement of the Bob and Judy Charles SmartHome. Among those who helped out include: Ty Allen, Josh Dayton, Ryan Wright, Aaron Flower, and Andy Reimer of “The Well” church, Matt Barnert, Jodi Walters and her family, Caroline and Essie Siegfried, Eva Klemens, and David and Karen Kalis.
And extra special kudos to Imagine!’s Director of Innovations Jodi Walters. Jodi has been a star performer under incredible pressure. She has been working tirelessly since the flooding began, making sure clients and staff members were safe, rallying support to ensure all of our homes had adequate staffing, assessing damage and working to get the damage mitigated as quickly as possible, gathering and sharing information, all the while looking ahead and setting priorities for what's next. She even found time to help create a fundraising campaign to help cover some of the costs of repairing the homes. Her efforts to date have been heroic and errorless. Well done, Jodi!
Other flood information:
Imagine! Behavioral Health Services (IBHS) has created a document on “How to Self-Care After a Disaster.” You can find that, along with flood updates and resources, on the “What’s New” page of the Imagine! website.
Looking to volunteer? Click here.
Looking to donate? Click here.
Mark neglected to mention that he, too, is a flood superhero. He ventured out each day to check on homes and spent his weekend shoveling mud out of Imagine! residential sites. He made it his priority to check that every consumer and staff member was safe, then set about planning how to assist those in need. Thank you, Mark!
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