By Ashok Verma
WHITEHEADS Creek resident Arie Eddy and his partner Lisa Geary are heartbroken as their rental house of the past three years was burnt down in the devastating fire on January 8.
They lost everything, including all their Christmas presents and also some new appliances worth thousands of dollars they had bought for a new Whiteheads Creek house they had planned to move to.
Mr Eddy, Ambulance Victoria community officer, said they had not been able to visit their house “because of mental health reasons. We probably won’t be going back there for a couple of weeks”.
He said: “It (the bushfire) took its emotional toll. Through a lot of it, I felt helpless, I felt frustrated, I felt infuriated with the government (over funding) at the same time. It’s been an emotional roller coaster”.
He said the family had packed all their belongings in boxes ready to move to a new rental property, but unfortunately, they were not able to get it all out at the time of the evacuation order from the fire authorities. All that has been lost.
Mr Eddy said they had been able to apply for government funding, which is yet to be approved.
“By no means it is enough. We have lost quite literally everything. I am grateful for every bit of assistance, but $1000 (for each family member) compared to the $50,000 in belongings that we have lost is pennies on the dollar. It’s not enough to get us back to where we were,” he said.
“We are lucky we have got a lot of family members who are donating stuff. My stepfather has set up a GoFundMe page for us, which has got some attention, so there’s a bit of money in there as well that we will be able to use for some necessities. But it’s going to be a long and expensive road for us to get to a position where we are sustainable again.”
The couple has five children between them, but only two lived with them in the house. They will receive payments for only two children, even though all lost their belongings in the fire.
The family, which initially shifted to the Seymour Relief Centre, has now moved to their new rental property at Whiteheads Creek.
