Michael Sieux thought his life would only get worse when his home burned to a cinder and he was left without an address.
He was wrong.
鈥淥ut of the blue a young couple said they would make room for me in their home and give me a place to sleep,鈥� said Sieux, Wednesday, while spending time in his new backyard.
The 69-year-old has been staying with a couple who asked that they only be identified as Don and Val, saving him from the homeless shelter he ended up in just days earlier.
鈥淚t鈥檚 turned out to be more than just a room,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey bend over backwards and they make me feel welcome鈥� I am totally overwhelmed.鈥�
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Sieux was one of a dozen residents of the Walnut Grove Motel, and the 130 of the Water鈥檚 Edge condominium, who were left homeless July 8 when a fire, sparked in a building under construction, spread and ripped through their homes. The cause is still under investigation, but it鈥檚 widely believed to have been sparked by a construction worker.
For everyone who lost their home, the situation was traumatic. For Sieux it felt catastrophic.
Sieux, who lived at the motel for 13 years, described himself as a hermit, having forged no social bonds in the last decade. He thought he had no one to turn to when his home was razed by fire.
鈥溾�楽cary barely scratches the surface of how I felt,鈥� he said. 鈥淲hen you get so far down, you can鈥檛 think of something good happening because you can鈥檛 grasp the idea of what good is. I hit bottom and couldn鈥檛 find a way to think about going up. I was just stuck.鈥�
Now, Sieux said, he鈥檚 feeling 鈥渦nstuck.鈥�
鈥淚t鈥檚 going to take awhile to realize that people recognize me as a human being, not just as a statistic about a bad thing that happened,鈥� he said.
Don and Val he said, have put him in a dynamic he hasn鈥檛 experienced in years and it鈥檚 been overwhelmingly positive.
鈥淭hey take me out in the car to do some of the things I need to do, like shopping and getting food,鈥� he said. 鈥淎t best, I was hoping for a room I could just sleep in. Now instead of a room, it鈥檚 almost like I鈥檝e become part of a family. I had minimum expectations and have been given something bigger than I can grasp and I can鈥檛 get my head around it.鈥�
It鈥檚 not just his new living arrangement that鈥檚 changed his life. His neighbour Kerry Flynn, who before the fire was mostly a stranger, has become his champion.
Flynn helped Sieux look for a home and was by his side 鈥済etting desperate鈥� with him when it started to look like he鈥檇 never find anything.
鈥淗e鈥檚 totally amazing and I can鈥檛 think of a way to thank him,鈥� Sieux said.
鈥淎 person saves you from drowning and you say 鈥榯hank you, we will be friends for life.鈥� But what do you say when someone gets up every day and goes on and on with help? He鈥檚 almost as old and in worse health than me, but he still got up and helped every day. Without him and this couple I am staying with now, I would have just given up.鈥�
Both Flynn and Don and Val have say they were just doing what needed to be done.
鈥淗e lived in the hotel for 13 years and he is the kindest most generous person you鈥檒l ever meet, he didn鈥檛 choose the situation he鈥檚 in,鈥� said Don. 鈥淵ou can鈥檛 say you鈥檙e willing to help someone and then pass him off to the next person. It wasn鈥檛 a decision. We just had to deal with it.鈥�
Sieux is not being charged rent for the time being, but the living arrangement is just temporary.
鈥淭here are a few people to help him get back on his feet, he deserves it,鈥� he said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 a wonderful man.
Give him five minutes of your time and you鈥檒l find the one.鈥�
