How Good Should a Good Neighbour Be?

Like a lot of the interesting things that happen in my life, it all started with a tweet... I had said no to pizza and beer on the beach and come home for an early nights sleep.
Which was not to happen, given the sirens, sirens and more sirens that started after midnight.
And being the curious creature that I am, I tweeted about it… "what's up with all the sirens in Leslieville?" Add the smell of smoke out my back window to that, and my tweets became a bit more urgent. There were a few replies from the hood – people who could also hear and smell it, or hear it but couldn't smell anything.
And then there was a tweet from a local who's running for city council and a little more connected than me (just marginally – I'm working on that!). Its on X street, between Y and Z.
Wait a minute!! I'm on X street! What the what??
Sticking my head out the window and looking up the street – sure enough – there are fire trucks! Now, I know you're going to ask me if I went out to talk to all the nice firemen.. but I know better than to disturb them when they're busy, you know.. saving lives and stuff.
But further news from Twitter let me know that the fire was under control, nobody was hurt. And I finally went to bed well past my bedtime.
The next morning – being the curious creature that I am – I started to wonder how the homeowners were dealing with the fire. I can only imagine how devastating it can be to lose everything in a fire. Then I started to wonder if they were getting any help, since I hadn't heard anything about it on Twitter or on the local yahoo group.
So, I went for a walk past the house, and saw a huge portion of a family's entire possessions out on the lawn and an older gentleman cleaning up. I wasn't comfortable approaching him alone, so when I got back home I sent an email to the local who's running for city council and asked him to step in and see what was needed.
He visited with them, found out its an older couple, living on pensions. No real family around to speak of. And yes, they could use some help.
Twitter, as usual, responds with all kinds of love and offers of help. By the end of the day, they've got some money and a living room full of furniture when they're ready for it. Yeah for Twitter!! xoxo
I drop by the house to say hi and see how they're doing. Their electricity is off and can't be turned back on until an electrician
gives the okay. The phone isn't working – will only make outgoing calls. There's no word from the insurance company.
But the husband, J, has done a great job of organizing all the debris – trying to make it safe as this hood is notorious for people rummaging through anything left outside.
And I should have seen the bigger problem then, but I think I wasn't ready to see it and the debris from the fire was so overwhelming.
I tell them what I'd like to do to help – Can I sort out the phone issue?
No, they don't want that dealt with until the insurance adjuster has come and seen everything.
Well, how about I talk to the insurance adjuster? I've got a knack for getting things moving.
Yes. They'd be grateful for that help.
And I make the call. Turns out the insurance adjuster had tried to call back (phone's not working) and hadn't been made aware of how urgent the situation was. He'll be there within 40 minutes.
I take my leave and offer to come back when the adjuster arrives. In fact, I gotta get away from there. As lovely as this couple is, J has a habit of just talking and talking and talking when he's nervous. Its making me crazy.
And its then, when the insurance adjuster is there, and I finally go with him into the house for the first time, that I see two things:
1. The fire caused a lot more damage than I realized
2. J is a hoarder.
So, while the fire is obviously a big problem, there is a way bigger issue that's going to affect everything. The insurance adjuster is a really nice guy and makes it clear to J that he's got to clean some of this stuff up for his guys to get in there to work. And he makes it clear that he'll deal with the fire issue, he won't deal with the hoarding.
It seems pretty obvious at this point that the fire was started by something else, and not the hoarding, but I'm sure all that stuff in there didn't help matters much.
I can see the shame on the face of J's wife. They're afraid the hoarding is going to affect the insurance claim. I'm sure the hoarding is probably why they live so isolated.
But now they're talking about how this is a chance to clean everything out and start fresh. Maybe this fire was a good thing, and they can just get rid of it all.
And I see that my good neighbourliness has put me knee deep in a big, big pile.
Sure, I could walk away. I helped them with the insurance, got that rolling. I'll just move on. I've done way more than a good neighbour would. But I can't. My heart's too big, and my conscience too loud.
And as Wallabina Luck would have it, the only person I know in this hood who works in social services showed up at my work that day. I was able to ask her for information about support for J and his wife.
Doesn't seem like there's a lot out there. There is a private company, but at $1,600, that's not really an option. Plus, I think that's just a bandaid solution. They need more than a cleanup, they need support.
I did find a social agency but its geared towards older adults living in rental units, not homeowners.
Right now, they're the only lead I've got at the moment, so they'll be my first call. And I'm about to put on the hip-waders and head out into the murky waters of social services and support for hoarders and seniors. To be a good neighbour.
I'll keep you posted! Wish me luck! And if you've got any suggestions or tips, please let me know!