Following year of disasters in Worcester, city looks at emergency fund for victims

WORCESTER — Over the past year, a series of property disasters have rocked Worcester, captured headlines and left affected tenants and business owners scrambling.

The city is considering partnering with a nonprofit to establish an emergency relief fund to help residents left economically vulnerable after a disaster with immediate financial support.

During the Thursday Standing Committee on Public Safety meeting, Charles Goodwin, director of emergency communications and emergency management for the city, discussed a report on other communities in Massachusetts with some form of fund to aid victims of disasters.

On Oct. 12, District 5 City Councilor Etel Haxhiaj requested a report on establishing a municipally operated emergency relief trust fund to give emergency and disaster survivors a one-time payment to aid in their recovery.

In 2022 and the first half of 2023, a handful of disasters in the city displaced tenants:

-On May 14, 2022, four people died following a four-alarm fire at a Gage Street apartment house. Former apartment resident Yvonne Ngoiri was later indicted on charges of second-degree murder related to the fire.

-On July 15, an early-morning roofing job at a Mill Street apartment building apparently led to construction material falling through the roof, weakening the building and forcing the evacuation of residents. The tenants and property owners Fren Management went to housing court over the matter of collecting and storing belongings from the building units.

-On May 1, 2023, a three-alarm fire ripped through a retail plaza on Pleasant Street, destroying two businesses and a vacant space.

-On May 14, 2023, 10 residents were displaced after a single-alarm fire raged through the front porches of a three-decker building on Mason Street.

The study looked at funds in Cambridge, Fitchburg, Leominster, Lincoln and Melrose.

According to the introduction to the report, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is authorized to distribute funds to assist in disaster response and recovery; however, these funds are only authorized for large-scale disasters through a lengthy approval process.

The communities in the report established the funds to aid residents in a more timely manner.

Haxhiaj called into the meeting to say she was inspired to request the report following the Mill Street collapse, where residents of 32 units were displaced.

Goodwin said the Mill Street collapse was unusual in that the American Red Cross could not help the residents, since it was not a fire.

The city will look at partnering with a nonprofit to develop its version of a fund, Goodwin said. A fund solely under the purview of the city may take too long to provide direct funding since there are barriers in place on governments releasing that spending, he said.

"In the moments following an emergency, one of the biggest benefits that the American Red Cross provides is that financial support in the hours following," Goodwin said.

Some of the communities that had emergency funds that were directly under the municipal government could take up to three days to release funds, Goodwin said.

Councilor-at-Large Kathleen Toomey, chair of the Standing Committee on Public Safety, agreed it can be challenging for municipal governments to release funding in a timely manner.

"It's difficult for governments to start doing this type of distribution and understanding the different needs," Toomey said.

Toomey said the city also needs to work on finding ways to publicize a potential fund.

Councilor-at-Large Donna Colorio, vice chair of the committee, recalled helping a woman recently displaced by a fire and wishing there was more immediate assistance available to help her after she was hospitalized for smoke inhalation and had to purchase new clothes.

Goodwin said his goal would be to find a local partner to help with advertising.

Residents would be able to donate to the program, Goodwin said.

Haxhiaj suggested a community-participation event such as a telethon to raise money if the fund is created.

"My sort-of call to action for us would be that the city keeps a heavy hand on whatever partnership or whatever format or model we come up with," Haxhiaj said.

In order to give the emergency department more time to form its version of the fund and look for partners, Toomey held any committee action on the report for later review.

Goodwin said he expected an update by midsummer.

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Worcester emergency relief fund could follow year of disasters