Santa Barbara Lucy
Donation protected
I suspect that some of you reading this have friends or family impacted by the “Thomas Fire” and subsequent mudslides in Santa Barbara, CA. My friend, Lucy Harvey, is such a person. I have known Lucy since she was in high school in St. Louis, MO when my husband Michael helped facilitate a youth program she was in. That’s when I first met Lucy - somewhere around 1975 - long before I was ordained an Episcopal priest (now retired from parish ministry in the Diocese of Chicago). To the credit of our friendship, however, Lucy and I have kept in touch these past 40-plus years.
She was an amazing young woman then, and over the years I have had the grace to watch her develop into an even more amazing adult: a talented artist, a loving and responsible woman whose compassion for others is exemplary, and a person who has gracefully weathered some tough times, including a divorce, a recent temporary health issue that led to a job loss, and now this. Gratefully, Lucy’s Santa Barbara apartment is safe, but the SR Hogue & Co Florist Shop in Montecito, CA where she had been working since her recovery, is off limits, surrounded by ashes and mud. This means that she is behind in her rent, and no one yet knows when circumstances will change. Needless to say, finding new employment right now is remote in an area where people are walking around shell shocked and needing the basics of everyday life.
Lucy is also shell shocked, and so I’m asking for the basics on her behalf - money for food, rent (which alone is almost 3/4 of the amount I’ve estimated) gas, and other basic necessities. Just as importantly, though, is for Lucy to have the simple knowledge that she is not alone. I’ve had to guess at a minimum goal for funds needed, since it’s hard to know at this point how long it will take the Santa Barbara community to recover, but the amount I’ve set includes back rent for December and January and an estimated four more months of rent and basic necessities until the florist shop is hopefully able to reopen. I may be dreaming to think any businesses will be able to reopen by then, so please give as generously as you are able, knowing that Lucy is someone who will pay it forward as soon as she gets back on her feet, and she will. What’s more, I ask that you please forward this to anyone you know who might be willing to help. Lucy has been reticent to ask for herself, knowing that there are other people who are in greater need, but Lucy is the person I know . . . and she needs our help, too.
She was an amazing young woman then, and over the years I have had the grace to watch her develop into an even more amazing adult: a talented artist, a loving and responsible woman whose compassion for others is exemplary, and a person who has gracefully weathered some tough times, including a divorce, a recent temporary health issue that led to a job loss, and now this. Gratefully, Lucy’s Santa Barbara apartment is safe, but the SR Hogue & Co Florist Shop in Montecito, CA where she had been working since her recovery, is off limits, surrounded by ashes and mud. This means that she is behind in her rent, and no one yet knows when circumstances will change. Needless to say, finding new employment right now is remote in an area where people are walking around shell shocked and needing the basics of everyday life.
Lucy is also shell shocked, and so I’m asking for the basics on her behalf - money for food, rent (which alone is almost 3/4 of the amount I’ve estimated) gas, and other basic necessities. Just as importantly, though, is for Lucy to have the simple knowledge that she is not alone. I’ve had to guess at a minimum goal for funds needed, since it’s hard to know at this point how long it will take the Santa Barbara community to recover, but the amount I’ve set includes back rent for December and January and an estimated four more months of rent and basic necessities until the florist shop is hopefully able to reopen. I may be dreaming to think any businesses will be able to reopen by then, so please give as generously as you are able, knowing that Lucy is someone who will pay it forward as soon as she gets back on her feet, and she will. What’s more, I ask that you please forward this to anyone you know who might be willing to help. Lucy has been reticent to ask for herself, knowing that there are other people who are in greater need, but Lucy is the person I know . . . and she needs our help, too.
Organizer and beneficiary
Paris Coffey
Organizer
Maplewood, MO
Lucy Harvey
Beneficiary
