HEROESSurvivors

Who: Kelsey Zottnick

What: Executive Director of Tracy’s Sanctuary House

Why: In August 2004, Kelsey’s father, mother, younger sister, and now-husband were all traveling back from dropping her off at college when their vehicle rolled. Kelsey’s mother Tracy died shortly after the accident. Because the accident was so far from home, they were forced to spend their time waiting in the hospital and a hotel. Family who traveled had to do the same. There was nowhere truly comfortable or private for them during such a hard time.

Kelsey’s dad wanted to create a space that would be a sanctuary for families going through the same situation. With his own money, he bought a home and converted it into a sanctuary for families with loved ones undergoing medical emergencies. Kelsey and her younger sister were both involved in the start-up of this non-profit.

Now, 18 years later, Kelsey is the executive director of Tracy’s Sanctuary House which has seen an estimated 4,500 families or over 10,000 people come through. The home has a living room, two kitchens, a chapel, five bedrooms with seven beds, a laundry facility, and a private backyard. The house can host multiple families at once thanks to the multiple bedrooms and two kitchens. Families can stay for 24 hours to six plus weeks. The arrangement is shortterm, but each family’s individual needs are taken into account.

Kelsey takes inspiration for her work from her mom. “I think my mom would be super proud of where we’re at. She just loved to give and anytime someone needed anything… she’d go above and beyond for other people. So really her heart and her memory lives on in this,” says Kelsey. “It’s taken me a long time to understand, but I feel like there’s always a reason for things, which is something my mom was a true believer in. We worked in the flower industry, and we would go to funeral homes and… she was always like, if God calls me home, it was meant to be. That was comforting looking back because I knew that about her.” It’s this belief that has allowed Kelsey to be such a force for good: “Bad things happen but I think you come from them, and you change, and you can start to see the stars align to why that happened.” www.tracyssanctuary.com

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