Every day a steady flow of people pass through the doors of the Westway Sports Centre seeking help in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire. Each person has a story to tell. Three local residents share their stories and how the British Red Cross has helped them.
James Woodley
James lives opposite Grenfell Tower. Shortly after the fire broke out, he saw smoke filling the windows of residents’ homes.
“I saw three young children, all aged four to five, screaming for help. It was extremely distressing,” James recalls.
The scenes he witnessed left James in a state of shock for the next two days and he struggled to speak properly.
His friend Lucy* was even more distraught. She suffered a seizure in the early hours of Wednesday morning and was taken to hospital.
After Lucy returned home, the pair decided to visit the Grenfell Community Assistance Centre to get emotional and psychological support.
The centre, located at the Westway Sports Centre, has been providing residents with food, water, clothing and a range of other services.
British Red Cross volunteers and staff have been at the centre since the immediate aftermath of the fire, and will continue to be there for as long as needed.
Trained Red Cross psychosocial support workers provided James and Lucy with emotional support. After speaking with Lucy, they recommended that she return to hospital. The volunteers arranged the necessary transport.
While travelling to hospital, Lucy suffered another seizure. She was given emergency treatment and was kept in overnight.
She went home on Thursday, and the first thing James did was go back to the centre to thank the Red Cross workers for their help.
“The Red Cross at Westway saved my friend’s life,” he says, with a visceral feeling of relief and appreciation.
Nicola Watts
“We saw it all, we live right next to the tower.”
Nicola Watts has lived in the community around Grenfell Tower all her life. And like many, she is still coming to terms with what happened two weeks ago.
“There’s no normal life,” she says. “We are scared to go to sleep. We’ve got no hot water so we can’t shower or do the washing up. The block is smelling as the rubbish can’t be emptied.
“It’s not normal. We have got police around 24 hours. The community is still in shock.”
Nicola Watts – ©BritishRedCross/SamSmith
Nicola, 31, has been coming to the assistance centre to get help from the British Red Cross and other organisations.
“We came here last week and the Red Cross has been amazing, I didn’t know about the centre until my neighbours told me about it,” says Nicola.
“The Red Cross has given us counselling. It was nice to talk to someone outside of the situation you are in. He was a lovely guy and just had a calming nature.
“My friend from school was in the tower, her and her children. None of them made it. We spoke about that and how we can get through it.”
Nicola says her two-year-old girl has started saying “fire” and “policeman” since the tragedy. She also highlighted how the community has pulled together.
“I’ve lived here all my life and the community spirit is amazing, everyone is going through this together,” she says.
“We were close before, and this has brought us closer.”
Byron Hewitt
Everyone seems to know Byron down at the centre. He visits every day and his distinctive sunglasses and swagger set him apart from the crowd.
“I was born and bred here,” he says, with distinguishable pride.
The 47-year-old has not had an easy time. Prior to the fire, Byron was homeless. He would often sleep rough, or stay at his uncle’s place in the tower. His uncle died in the fire.
In the aftermath of the fire, Byron was preparing to spend a night on the streets when he came across a British Red Cross volunteer at the assistance centre.
“The Red Cross guy said: ‘I’m not having you sleep outside, we are sorting you out,’” recalls Byron.
“He has basically turned around my life. I don’t think he realises how much he has helped me. He was just doing something he does all the time.”
Byron Hewitt – ©BritishRedCross/SamSmith
Byron, who is studying a gas engineering course, was able to make use of the services at the centre, getting housing and medical support.
He also spoke with Red Cross psychosocial support worker Debi Haden.
“Debi gave me so much emotional support, she chilled me out,” he says. “She sat down with me and really mothered me, you could say.
“She gave me a warm hug and it was really nice. If there weren’t people like Debi around to understand what I was going through, I would be in a much worse place.
“I really appreciate what you guys are doing for me and the community. Although we’re still angry, what you guys have done is amazing.
“Anyone who’s not sure about coming here, they should definitely come, just trust and come down.”
- If you have an outstanding need or concern related to the Grenfell Tower fire, please contact the Care for Grenfell team on 020 7745 6414 Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Alternatively email careforgrenfell@rbkc.gov.uk.
- The Grenfell Assistance Centre has now moved to: The Curve, No 10 Bard Road, Nottingdale, West London, W10 6TP. People can access services and support provided by the response team from 10am to 8pm.
- Read more: What to do if you’ve been affected by Grenfell Tower fire
- Please donate to our London Fire Relief Fund to support people affected by the Grenfell Tower fire
*Name changed
This blog was updated on 11 August and 15 September 2017
Jun 26, 2017 @ 16:44:00
My sister is a qualified counsellor with Relate and other similar organisations and she would like to volunteer her services to the victims of the tower fire. Please can you tell me who she should contact.
Jun 26, 2017 @ 17:02:29
Hi Carol,
Thanks for your comment and offer to help. At the moment we do not need any volunteers to come forward. All our volunteers are specially trained to respond to emergency situations. You can find out more about how to become a British Red Cross volunteer on our website.
Thanks,
Sam
Jun 27, 2017 @ 21:27:14
I gave some money to the Red Cross but one of my friends told me that when he was helping at Grenfell Tower the day after the fire, the Red Cross were not there, and did did not arrive to start helping for two days – does the Red Cross need to be invited by the government or local council before they can get involved?
Jun 28, 2017 @ 10:51:58
Hi Judith,
Thank you for your kind donation. Our emergency response volunteers have been providing practical and emotional support since the early hours of Wednesday (14 June) morning after the fire broke out. We have stepped up our role at the Grenfell Community Assistance Centre, helping to coordinate the running of the centre, making sure people are guided to the services they need, and providing practical and emotional support. Find out more about our response here: https://blogs.redcross.org.uk/appeals/2017/06/grenfell-tower-fire-red-cross-response/
Responding to emergencies is absolutely at the heart of what the British Red Cross does here in the UK. We have thousands of specially trained staff and volunteers across the UK able to deal with different emergency situations, as well as psychosocial staff to offer support in times of crisis.
When emergencies happen, the Red Cross supports the police, ambulance and fire services, local and health authorities to assist those affected. On Saturday, 17 June, we increased our role in response to the levels of need that were becoming apparent. The response is being managed by the Grenfell Fire Response Team, made up of representatives from central government, the British Red Cross, the Metropolitan police, London-wide local and regional government and the London Fire Brigade.
Hope that helps.
Kind regards,
Laura