BOULDER COUNTY, Colo. (KDVR) — People who may have lost wages due to their business or place of employment being damaged in the Marshall Fire may be able to get financial help.
“We are looking at this as gap funding for people who may not live in the area but lives have been affected,” said Tatiana Hernandez, CEO of Community Foundation Boulder County.
One of those families impacted is Wayne Shelnutt and his wife whose business, Wayne’s Smoke Shack, in Superior was damaged by the fire.
“The building is still standing but we sustained heavy damage all around,” Shelnutt said.
The family lost their home completely and now are just trying to get back on their feet with no income. We told the family about the new service and Shelnutt said they are going to apply.
“It can put some money in our bank accounts and help us keep on top of paying for everything,” Shelnutt said.
Hernandez said when applying, it’s important to have evidence like a recent pay stub or a letter from your employer.
“As of today, we’ve raised $23.2 million dollars, and I know that sounds like a lot, but as of today we’ve also allocated seven of the $23.2 million dollars,” Hernandez said.
| According to the release from the Boulder County and Community Foundation Boulder County: “As thousands of Boulder County families and individuals struggle to recover from the most destructive wildfire in Colorado history, financial assistance through the Marshall Fire Wildfire Fund is expanding to those who have been out of work or who lost tools of their trade due to the fire. Boulder County, through a partnership with Community Foundation Boulder County, will begin accepting applications for the assistance beginning Thursday, January 20. The additional financial help comes on the heels of a first round of $5.5 million in assistance which was distributed from the Wildfire Fund over the last two weeks to nearly 2,200 households whose homes were destroyed or damaged by the Marshall Fire or who were forced to evacuate. Those who are determined eligible to receive this assistance will be contacted via text message or phone call within seven days from the date of application to pick up the funds. Anyone needing in-person help with the application can visit the Boulder County Disaster Assistance Center (DAC) at 1755 South Public Road in Lafayette between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. daily through end of day Saturday, January 22. The DAC will then close to in-person help as work transitions to longer-term recovery, online services, and targeted assistance. “In addition to the destruction or damage of well over a thousand homes, the Marshall Fire also put many people out of work and took down some businesses in the area,” said Boulder County Housing and Human Services Interim Co-Director Paul Jannatpour. “Thanks to the generosity of so many financial donors, Community Foundation Boulder County has been able to move quickly in partnership with us to get well over $5 million to those who need it most, and this next round of funding is another step forward in helping our neighbors with recovery.” Financial donations are still being sought through Community Foundation Boulder County’s Wildfire Fund at www.commfound.org to help Marshall Fire survivors. Those impacted by the Marshall Fire are encouraged to visit www.boco.org/MarshallFire and www.boco.org/MarshallFireEspanol to learn about the recovery process and find out about available resources for which they may qualify.“ |