Campaign aids slide victims

Suzie Harrison

After losing their homes June 1 in the Bluebird Canyon landslide, two

families are finally finding their footing, thanks to the City’s

Adopt-a-Landslide-Family campaign to aid victims of the disaster.

The Lockhart family was the first to be adopted by a group of

Laguna Beach architects who call themselves the Lockhart Relief

Group.

Mayor Elizabeth Pearson-Schneider created the adoption program,

while planning commission chairwoman Anne Johnson is the co-chair.

Individual donors and companies are being asked to raise $150,000

or comparable in-kind services for each family in the program.

The mayor said cash donations, free rent, and places to live all

help.

“We have a perfect example of how well it’s working,”

Pearson-Schneider said.

Architect Morris Skenderian, a 35-year Laguna Beach resident, said

he and other architects had been discussing ways to help out the

stranded families.

“The mayor called and asked if I was willing to adopt a family, “

Skenderian said. “I said yes. The family has two kids and needs some

sponsorship.”

The group members met with the Lockhart family and were

“immediately sold on helping this particular family,” architect Lance

Polster said.

Jill and Bobby Lockhart and their two sons, Trey, 4, and Tyson ,

2, are in temporary housing and needed a more permanent place to

live.

That’s when Skenderian came up with the idea to approach a client,

Phyllis Phillips, to see if they could situate a trailer or trailers

on their vacant lot on Laguna Canyon Road for free.

“We found out about it two weeks ago,” Jill Lockhart said. “Morris

invited us to a lunch and told us about the possibility; we were

really excited it.”

The Lockhart’s are currently living in a trailer at El Morro

Village donated by another family.

Jill still doesn’t sleep well months after the landslide.

“I think it’s going to take time to get over it,” Lockhart said.

“I was inside the house half asleep when it dawned on me. I grabbed

Ty out of his crib and got Trey. We ran out on the street and saw

real chaos. The old-fashioned electrical poles were falling, and it

was a nightmare.”

She said she was barely able to get the kids out. A neighbor boy,

Ryan Haskell, was instrumental in this.

“He helped me get the kids down the hill,” Lockhart said. “We had

to run down the side of the hill, the hill was moving, and I couldn’t

get both of them down on my own.”

She said with the electrical poles tumbling down and water all

around, she was worried they could be electrocuted.

“It was chaotic,” Lockhart said. “Being alone with the kids, we

could have died.”

Bobby had already left for work.

“People are really reaching out; we’re so lucky,” Lockhart said.

“Without Morris and Phyllis, I don’t know what we’d do. It’s really

great. This to is the biggest hurdle, the housing situation. We have

mortgages still due.”

Skenderian said the goal is to rebuild the Lockhart’s Bluebird

Canyon home.

“The question is, can they afford it,” he said. “If they get the

funds we’ll help with the steering process and help get the house on

site. We’ll see them through the process, help with the design and

permitting. We’ll help any way we can.”

Phillips and her two daughters, Keri Kern and Kasey Fahey, are all

involved in the process of helping the Lockharts.

“Phyllis said, ‘I’ll do anything,’” Skendarian said. “The

agreement is for a year and a half.”

“It was just a no-brainer; we wanted to help out,” Kern said.

Coincidentally Fahey, Phillips and Kern later learned the family

they were helping had long ties with their family. Kasey and Jill

grew up together and were close friends. Subsequently Phyllis and

Keri came to know Jill well too.

The mayor is currently working on procuring several trailers for

the location.

Tim Dillon read the website and wanted to help someone.

“I heard a couple had to leave Laguna Beach and were living in a

small place in Long Beach,” Dillon said. “I though they would be

ideal for my guest cabin.”

Hugh Callaghan and his partner of 20 years, Donna Kilgore, found

out about Dillon’s plan to help last week.

“We received a call from Anne Johnson, saw the cottage on

Thursday, and Tim said we could move in as soon as possible,”

Callaghan said. “He’s been very, very generous, very giving. Tim said

there it is, enjoy it, be happy. I was really touched by this guy.”

“I’m just happy to help people in our community who suffered a

great unfortunate loss,” Dillon said. “Hugh and Donna in particular

are wonderful people. I’m happy I can help just a small bit.”

Hugh described the cottage as delightful.

“It’s 800 square feet, has a very nice patio, a backyard and a

gorgeous ocean view,” Hugh said. “I just can’t believe my luck and

the generosity of everyone concerned. It’s a bit overwhelming.”

At the time of the slide, Callaghan was in Scotland. He had left

two days earlier.

“I received a phone call from my nephew. He said, ‘Go on the

Internet, your house is sliding down the hill,’” Callaghan said. “I

went on CNN and my house was the centerpiece of all the homes. It had

to be mine. I was in such disbelief.”

He said Donna was in the house and heard cracking and popping.

“She went outside and saw neighbors on their porch,” Callaghan

said. “The house was slidingshe went in the house and couldn’t get

out [because] the doors were jammed. She finally found an exit, got

out and went down the hill.”

Ernest Stuart with the Laguna Relief and Resource Center said at

Tuesday’ City Council meeting that they have been working with the

city raising funds for the last two months.

“Our mission is in coordination with the city and the

Adopt-a-Family program and with the Bluebird Canyon Community

Association to assess short and long term needs,” Stuart said.

They have a $150,000 balance to be donated. He supports allocating

$500 a month to each family over the next six months.”The mission is

to support the family over the next two-year period,” Stuart said.

More financial aid and opportunities for the

Adopt-a-Landslide-Family program are in the works.

“I’m in marketing. This is just what I do -- think of creative

ways to get things done,” Pearson-Schneider said. “I wanted a way to

help families after they got through the initial crisis, a way to

begin to develop financial resources to begin to rebuild.”

Fifteen families have been named in the campaign, and each has a

profile on the city’s website. These families were expected to be out

of their Bluebird Canyon homes for more than two years.