How Grenfell’s community is healing from the trauma of the fire 5 years on

The clock on the wall of the Lancaster West Community Centre falls to the floor. No one is standing within ten feet of the shattered object, so it’s hard to know what caused it. Either way, the dramatic crash emphasises the point Kim Monti is making.

“We as a community, at the ground level, are trying to pull together,” she was saying as the clock fell, describing how neighbours have supported each other in the five years since the Grenfell Tower fire. Kim immediately saw it as a sign that one of the victims wanted to show they agreed.

“Whichever one of you 72 people who smashed this clock, we are thinking about you,” she said, her voice wavering, before another resident visitor to the centre adds “yes, we are”.

READ MORE: Grenfell estate residents plagued by shoddy repairs and years in hotels

Moments earlier Kim’s recollection of the trauma caused by the fire had brought the woman to tears. The two had paused to embrace and gather themselves before concentrating on their work ahead, preparing food for their neighbours.

“It was one of the most horrific days ever,” Kim said, “we are so affected by this tragedy. It’s tearful to even think about it. We knew the people that died and we’re never going to see them or talk on the phone again. It’s very hard to deal with, especially looking at the tower every time you walk out your house because it’s there right in front of your face. A lot of people are still extremely traumatised.”

Around 11,000 people have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health issues from witnessing the fire that killed 72 people back in 2017. The densely populated area around the building itself and the distance at which the tower can be seen meant many people saw horrible things.

For the residents of the Lancaster West estate, the tragedy was even more personal. Grenfell was part of the same building complex, it housed the utilities for many of the homes, but, more importantly, it was where people’s friends and relatives lived. Children from the tower would often come down to the gardens to play and adults would visit their friends.

The issues with repairs, which contributed to the fire, were not restricted to the tower alone, they applied to the whole estate. Campaigns fought by locals to improve housing standards or address fire safety concerns belonged to the people beneath the tower too.

As it all took place on the resident’s doorsteps, memories of that day are easily triggered. “Everybody around here is stressed from the fire, what they saw and what they’ve been through over the years,” Kim continued, “they were [renovating] the flat above me and every day there was banging and drilling. My granddaughter, I couldn’t keep her in the house, she’d be screaming and getting frightened.”

Cooking for the community

The way that Kim and many others in the community have tried to deal with their trauma is by throwing themselves into the support of the people around them. On the day of the anniversary she is in the kitchen all day preparing free food for hundreds of residents, past and present, who’d returned for the memorial service. MyLondon met her afterwards and found her tired, but thankful to have had something to focus on with all the painful memories swirling around her head. “I don’t think I could have made it through without it,” she told us.

Kim’s community efforts are not restricted to the anniversary events, they go on every day. She cooks a free weekly meal for anyone who wants to come along and once a month hosts a breakfast for residents. Food is also laid on for special occasions, like the Jubilee, which attracted more than 130 people.

The meals began when Kim noticed some of the food donated to the Community Kitchen – a service which allows residents to bring down items they don’t want in exchange for food they might use – was being wasted. Rather than seeing the bad food thrown out, she decided to cook it. The initiative now attracts lots of donations from local businesses and provides many within the community who are struggling, with food to survive.

Bringing people together to eat has also been incredibly positive, Kim said. “We find that, people who come down to eat, sit and talk to each other and engage. There’s an atmosphere and everyone’s enjoying themselves,” she added.

Local resident Harry explained coming down to the kitchen stopped him from dwelling on the tower and problems with his own property. “Coming round her is just a release, I can just feel happy and not think about that house, the problems that go with it and the building work,” he added. “You’ve got a really nice vibrant community round here and I like getting to know the other residents.”

In addition to the food, the community centre plays host to many other activities including yoga and massages. All of which are free and residents say are very therapeutic.

Building gardens

The windows of the building directly under the Grenfell Tower are still boarded up and unoccupied. It’s a spot that could easily become derelict and unwelcoming. But instead, it’s filled with long rows of herbs on well-kept raised flower beds and a pond filled with tadpoles. A wooden and plastic greenhouse has been constructed at the entrance and benches at the back of the garden offer a peaceful spot for quiet reflection.

It’s all part of the local gardener ‘Herb’ Robert’s philosophy that you should try to make the most unloved parts of a place look the most pretty. As MyLondon tours the estate with him he highlights the little gardens squeezed into the complex’s various nooks and crannies.

He explained that the gardens were not only a place where residents could go to relieve stress. The act of building them or taking produce was therapeutic in itself. “Some people find it very uncomfortable coming this close to the tower,” Robert said, “but once they do [they find it okay], like Tarik in a wheelchair who lost five relatives. When he came here I said, come on we’re doing it for them, we’re doing something positive […] Some of my [gardening] volunteers on a Monday are people who were directly affected by [the fire] I like to think in a small way it helps.

“We’re all gardeners because once upon a time you could not go to a shop and get rosemary. You had to get it yourself. I looked out my window last night and I saw a gentleman with his child taking [some herbs] and I just [thought that’s] great.”

Another person who uses the gardens is blind resident Laila Williams . When MyLondon met her at the community centre, tucking into some of Kim’s food, she is keen to tell us about all the herbs she picks: “I get my own rosemary, bay leaves, thyme [and] oregano, sometimes I get my own lettuce.” Robert has brightened up her favourite spot for having a cigarette with some lavender too, something she appreciates.

For the gardener himself, the process of improving the areas around the estate is also an act of self-care. He sees it as a repetition of an gesture he made as a small child for a schoolfriend who died in a fire at their boarding school.

“The boy next to me Parker, he woke me up and there was smoke everywhere. [I stayed in my bed, but] he went down the stairs and was never seen again. [After it happened] I built him a little rockery, with geraniums and little flowers in the middle for him.”

Robert is employed by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, who fully support his efforts to brighten up the estate. Their involvement is uncomfortable for residents who are still furious with them over their role in the fire. Others on the estate, who preferred not to be quoted, expressed scepticism about these projects being backed. After all, the gardens and community events not only support the community, they make the local authority look better in the eyes of both residents and outsiders.

For many of the people who find solace in the gardens or the collective meals, the people behind it matter little. The main thing is for them to continue supporting each other as they process the awful events of five years ago.

“We are survivors,” Kim explained, “we are still, every day, trying to survive what we went through, trying to build a better community and bring the community together.”

Have you been part of a project that has helped you process trauma? Contact [email protected]