EASTON, Pa. — In the days after a massive downtown fire forced dozens of residents from their homes, the most urgent challenge for many survivors was no longer emergency response, but where they would sleep next.
The building had operated for years as a rooming house, and many fled with little more than the clothes they were wearing.
As short-term emergency assistance from the American Red Cross began to wind down, local agencies moved quickly to assemble a stopgap system of shelter, hotel placements and direct cash assistance.
At least 32 displaced residents have stayed at a Red Cross shelter at Northampton Community College, said Cristina Maisel, regional communications manager for the Red Cross Pennsylvania Rivers Chapter.
“We do have our volunteer case workers who will be working with each of the affected residents to help them create a recovery plan,” Maisel said Friday.
“We’ve also been coordinating with community partners in the Easton area trying to meet the needs of the residents affected.”
MARC opens
The Red Cross and multiple local agencies were scheduled to staff a Multi-Agency Resource Center on Friday and Saturday at the Gallery at the State Theatre Center for the Performing Arts in Easton, offering access to a range of services.
Participating state agencies were expected to include the departments of Health, Human Services and Revenue and others.
Easton Housing Authority and several Northampton County agencies and departments also were scheduled to participate.
Easton Fire Chief Henry Hennings said the MARC would focus on replacing vital documents such as birth certificates, reviewing insurance coverage, providing trauma and crisis response services, and connecting residents with mental health, benefits and disability resources.
United Way funding
Meanwhile, the United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley has coordinated fundraising to assist people displaced by the fire, said Laura McHugh, the organization’s chief engagement officer.
“We raised over $27,000 to date as of yesterday [Thursday], including $5,000 earmarked to Easton’s two fire stations,” McHugh said.
The remaining funds, McHugh said, are intended to further stabilize displaced residents from Hotel Hampton during the critical period after initial emergency aid ends.
That's when survivors may have no insurance payout, no permanent housing plan and few immediate options beyond shelters, couch surfing or costly extended hotel stays.
Emergency response systems are designed to act quickly and exit, McHugh acknowledged, with longer-term housing solutions often taking weeks to materialize.
She said the United Way has worked with a local hotel provider and aims to distribute assistance within 14 days of a disaster.
That support may include cash cards provided directly to displaced residents or payments made on their behalf to hotels or landlords for interim housing.
"We’ve had a local hotel step up and offer very reduced prices,” McHugh said.
She said the organization currently is ahead of its typical distribution schedule after getting what she described as a “very significant donation” from BSI Corporate Benefits.
'Responded in a very powerful way'
McHugh said the United Way has compiled a list of people affected by the fire and will continue holding cash cards and assistance until all reasonable efforts have been made to locate those eligible.
“People have responded in a very powerful way to support all the vulnerable people,” she said.
Maisel said the Red Cross will continue working individually with residents to ensure each has a recovery plan in place.
“People don’t have to stay overnight at the college to get a hot meal or get connected to case workers,” she said.
Shelter numbers have fluctuated since the fire, Maisel said. Twenty-nine people stayed the first night, with attendance rising and falling in the days since.
In total, the Red Cross has supported 219 overnight stays, she said.
The Multi-Agency Resource Center will be open from 3 to 8 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 28, at the Gallery at the State Theatre Center for the Performing Arts, 453 Northampton St., Easton.
