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CHICO, Calif. -- Elementary school kids from Chico Unified School District and Paradise got time to reconnect and be kids during an event Wednesday night.
Children and their parents were treated to free supplies like blankets, infant and children's clothing, toiletries, and other necessities. There were also activities for the kids, such as an ice cream social, games, arts and crafts, and a movie showing.
Matt Reddam lives in the Butte Creek Canyon area. He went to the event with his two boys and his wife. For the past few days he said he didn't hide the details of the Camp Fire.
"What we told them was the truth, but we did it in a way that...was OK before I did it, knowing especially, this guy (his son), he was gonna know. And when they asked us if our house was OK, I was honest and said, 'I don't know,'" Reddam said.
Reddam said his home survived, but they're not sure how they'll be able to go back without their neighbors and community. It's something he's still figuring out to explain to his kids.
"I think the hardest conversation is why things happen," Reddam said. "I think what will happen as we move forward, because, I think the acute nature of trauma is that you just survive at the moment and then, once things slow down, that's when things sink in."
Paradise was supposed to be a fresh start for Charity Parsons and her daughter Megan. They lost their home in the fire.
"Stuff can be replaced," Parsons said. "I know a lot of people say that stuff can be replaced, but what they have to realize, too, is that it's our stuff. Stuff that was giving us a new future."
She's ready to make a new home in Chico. Reddam says that's not an option.
"To know that part of our task is to rebuild that soul is heavy, but I think we owe it to the people who have been there 60 years of their life to do that," Reddam said.
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