BRISTOL, Conn. — The air is cold and the leaves are crisp driving down Rosewood Drive in Bristol, but just up the street, you’ll be greeted by the warmth of the Osenkowski family and their Halloween light display.
“We come here every Halloween, every Christmas,” said Kelli Roberts.
Every year this neighborhood is lit up with a different display on Halloween and Christmas, as these lights help other families make the holiday season shine even brighter.
“Every year we do families at Christmas time. Families that are in need, children that are sick or people that have passed away and we try to raise money for them every year,” said Rob Osenkowskiz.
This time, the community is coming together to help three families this Halloween too.
“They’ve always come out between Halloween and Christmas in the past but this time is different and we need the support,” said Lori Osenkowski.
The home is covered with blue lights memorializing two Bristol police officers, Sgt. Dustin Demonte and Officer Alex Hamzy, who were shot and killed in the line of duty, as well as Officer Alec Iurato who was shot and seriously injured.
“This is just really difficult, but we’re going to push through,” said Lori Osenkowski.
Through their display, they are turning tragedy into a ray of hope and raising money for each family.
“Not everybody has Venmo or PayPal. We’d figure it’d be easier to be outside with our people in Bristol and our surrounding towns to collect monetary donations in the form of cash,” said Lori Osenkowski.
But it also offers a place for anyone seeking comfort or community.
“We’ll be here all night so if you want to hang out in the driveway and just talk about what’s going on, have a closer view of the lights, or just want to drive by and show respect or make a monetary donation, we’ll be out here for them,” said Rob Osenkowski.
“It’s lights on the house but it’s different types of lights that people are bringing and that’s what this town needs. That’s what this world needs right now,” said Lori Osenkowski.
As each person drives by, gets out of their car, and shares moments with each other at the home on Rosewood Drive, Lori Osenkowski said, “After these last few days, Bristol is all heart.”
So far they have raised more than $7,000 thousand dollars. They will be taking donations until the end of the month.
DeAndria Turner is a multi-media journalist at FOX61 News. She can be reached at dturner@fox61.com.
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