The City of Springfield has condemned 514 housing units as a result of last week’s tornadoes. We have had over 250 people stay in our Red Cross disaster emergency shelter. The tornado hit the City’s South End and Six Corners neighborhoods, both of which are extremely poor communities. There is a desperate need for housing assistance for displaced families.
The Western Massachusetts Network to End Homelessness has responded in a coordinated way, with multiple service providers sending housing specialists directly to the disaster emergency shelter to assist families in finding new housing and rebuilding their lives. Over just the last two days, Network partners have rehoused 21 households into permanent replacement housing.
One of the most critical needs to assist the rehousing effort is financial assistance. Whether it’s just a security deposit for a Section 8 recipient, or more funds to support a household with greater need, money is needed to rehouse displaced residents.
Two of our Network partners are experienced in providing financial assistance dedicated to housing costs for households in need, and these agencies make these funds available to all agencies providing rehousing services. Your contributions to these agencies, marked “tornado relief”, will go directly to rehousing Springfield families displaced by tornadoes:
- Catholic Charities, 65 Elliot Street, Springfield, MA 01105
- HAP Housing, 322 Main Street, Springfield, MA 01105
Thank you for anything you can do to help. Please help spread the word that the best way to respond to homelessness among Springfield tornado victims is to contribute to Catholic Charities and HAP.
