REFUGE for the Evacuated
CrossWalk: A Refuge for Evacuated Seekers
For decades CrossWalk has served as Napa County’s first-to-open,
last-to-close evacuation shelter. In 2014 my family was jolted out of
bed. We turned on the news to learn that an earthquake hit not too
far from Napa. My whole gang immediately got dressed and headed
to church where we found lots of broken glass in our kitchens. My
oIice was totaled, with furniture thrown around the room. After we
knew it was safe to enter the buildings (no gas leaks or structural
issues), my son and I worked to get the gym kitchen cleaned up
because we knew it was just a matter of time before we would be
called upon to open as a shelter. CrossWalkers just showed up to
help and make sure the church was okay. One evacuee, Bruno
Bardet, found the hospitality so lovely that he began attending
church. He joined and is still an active member to this day!
Napa County, City, and nonprofit organizations found out how
unprepared they were for a major disaster. At that time, a new
organization was conceived in CrossWalk’s sanctuary: Community
Organizations Active in Disaster. The COAD now fulfills a critical
role connecting government and NPO’s to serve the needs of
Napans. When not activated, the COAD helps the community
become more prepared by fostering neighbor-to-neighbor caregiving
and training for NPO leaders (and more).
I remember when the fires came in 2017. I got a call in the middle
of the night from the County Sherrif’s oIice that we needed to open.
Thirty minutes later, we were open and getting ready for hundreds
upon hundreds of evacuees. Once again, CrossWalkers simply
showed up to help direct traIic and oIer assistance as needed. The
first folks to arrive were from evacuated resorts who had the means
to find other space, so they were only with us a few hours. Then
another wave of people came who didn’t have the same capacity.
Many stayed for a week, others even longer.
In 2020, lightning ignited massive fires that caused widespread
damage around Berryessa, into Vacaville and well beyond. Still
under the COVID pandemic restrictions and scorching hot temps,
we were inundated with hundreds of evacuees from Calistoga.
There was no way we could provide social distancing. I was sure it
would be a super-spreader. The gym and the sanctuary were packed
as people waited to get vouchers for hotel rooms. Eventually, all but
a few got placed – we had a handful who stayed on campus for a
while before moving back home. CrossWalk’s own, Karen Kenny, lost
her house overlooking Lake Berryessa. She noted that the fire didn’t
spread on the ground but in the air. Her house was no match.
Gratefully, she was able to stay with her son, daughter-in-law and
granddaughter until she was put up in a hotel for six months until she
bought a new home.
We are proud to serve in this capacity, and we have invested
significant funds to improve our campus so that we can better serve
those who come our way. After the 2020 fires, we recognized that we
needed to improve our locker room showers to accommodate
neighbors with access and functional needs. We created accessible
shower stalls. In our gym lobby, we remodeled our bathrooms to
provide accessible stalls. That renovation cost tens of thousands of
dollars coming mostly from CrossWalk, but also from the
Community Foundation, our denomination, and a memorial gift.
One massive, recent improvement that will allow us to serve more
fully is the complete renovation of our gym kitchen. Before, we could
only use our kitchen for storage – it was not permitted for food
preparation. (Napa County is adamant about food safety with
evacuees – nobody is served well if food poisoning makes its way
into the meals provided.) Now a fully permitted commercial kitchen,
CrossWalk can provide meals prepared onsite. The funds for this
project came largely from Federal grants channeled through Feeding
It Forward (who have full access to the kitchen for their purposes),
CrossWalk funds, our denomination, memorial gifts and donor-
restricted contributions.
Why do we work so hard and invest so much for people we will
likely never see again? Because that is the Way of Jesus. The
Good Samarian came across a beaten up, left-for-dead victim of a
robbery and chose to sacrifice his time and money to care for him,
even though he knew the unconscious man likely reviled him. We do
it because it’s the right thing to do, the loving thing to do, the Jesus
thing to do. Our hope is that the improvements we make with this
Capital Campaign: A Shelter in Life’s Storms will allow us to
continue to serve fully and well for decades to come.