Correction (March 26 12:27 a.m.): Due to an editing error, an earlier version of this story included an incorrect date in the "Attend the benefit concert" box. The box as been changed to reflect the correction.
The story also incorrectly states Sheina Taub’s year. She is a sophomore. The story has been updated to reflect the corrections. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for the errors.
It’s been more than three weeks since four students lost their house to a fire that destroyed nearly everything they owned.
The 506 Church St. residence burned down Mar. 1 as a result of a discarded cigarette on the porch, said Chapel Hill Fire Marshal Matt Lawrence.
But for every comment the housemates make about their sense of loss, there is an expression of gratitude for the support they’ve received from others.
Attend the Benefit Concert
Time: 10 p.m. April 3
Location: Jack Sprat
Cover: $3 21 and over; $5 under 21
Junior Austin Monroe, one of the housemates, said he knew his close friends were going to help, but was surprised when complete strangers were offering toiletries, clothes and furniture.
“I haven’t felt a huge sense of loss as much as I’ve felt such a community come out,” he said.
Junior Kathryn Rathbun said she never felt a part of the Chapel Hill community her first two years at UNC, but all that’s changed in the last three weeks.
“I feel like people have just come out of the woodwork that I never talk to,” she said. “You think they don’t care until they have a reason to show that they do.”
After the fire, the roommates stayed with some friends at the liberal arts fraternity St. Anthony Hall. Afterward, the University provided free housing at Ehringhaus Residence Hall and emergency money for the students.
Now they are living in two side-by-side duplexes on Hillsborough Street that the landlord of their burned house helped them find.
And people are continuing to help.
Jamila Reddy, a close friend of all the roommates, created a Facebook event called “
Fundraiser for 506 Church St. Residents
” as a result of an overwhelming number of people asking how they could help.
“Those are my friends, and I care deeply about them,” she said. “I want to make sure they can get back on their feet.”
The Facebook group’s wall is filled with offers of furniture, clothes, toiletries and vehicles to help them move.
“It didn’t surprise me in the least,” Reddy said. “They were always open to other people, so it was appropriate to do the same for them.”
Furniture, especially beds, are still a big need for the roommates. They also all commented on how nice it would be to have books for their classes. Reddy said the big dollar items, like laptops, are obviously more difficult to have donated, so she’s planning a fundraiser on April 3 at Jack Sprat.
All the money collected at the door will go to the four students, co-owner Kyle Heath said.
“We said that no one cares,” housemate Sheina Taub, a sophomore, said. “But frankly, as cheesy as it sounds, every human being has some amazing amount of good in them, which I never thought I’d say truthfully.”
It was their cynical outlooks on life that brought them together, Rathbun said.
“I’m pretty skeptical about the goodness of people and it restored my faith,” said housemate Jesi Harris.
Rathbun also reflected on the value of material things in life.
“It was really liberating to realize that even when you don’t have the things you think make you you, you’re still you.”
Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.
