WESTFIELD-Phyllis Ortona is a woman on a mission – to ensure that victims from Sunday’s Powdermill Village Apartments fire have the necessary staples to move on with their lives.
On Wednesday at 10 a.m., Ortona had already been hard at work for hours – still organizing and categorizing all of the donations that area residents had been dropping off since Monday morning.
Phyllis Ortona, vice president of the tenant board at Powdermill Village Apartments in Westfield, is still in need of strong shopping bags that can hold essentials for families impacted by Sunday’s fire.
Since an informational session is planned today from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the community room at Powdermill Village for the tenants impacted by the fire, Ortona had a tight deadline Wednesday to sort, stack and bag up donations for the families.
“I especially still need strong shopping bags,” said Ortona, noting that families will be at the informational session and then picking up foodstuffs and basic necessities. Ortona serves as vice president of the tenant board at Powdermill Village Apartments.
While clothing is no longer needed, Ortona said she is still in need of personal products including hairbrushes, combs, deodorant, body wash and bars of soap.
“Since some families are in motels and only have a small microwave, donations of microwaveable food and canned soups are especially helpful,” said Ortona.
Ortona added she is aware that some displaced families are currently living with other family members so they do not have a lot of room to take too many items with them at this time.
“Juice boxes are especially needed for the little ones,” she added.
Since Sunday, Melissa Fish-Crane, principal and chief operating officer of Peabody Properties, as well as local and corporate office management, facilities, and resident services team members, have been working with Powdermill Village residents in response to the fire to provide assistance and coordinate resources, according to Doreen Bushashia, president of Peabody Resident Services, Inc.
“Peabody Properties provided residents of the building impacted by the fire the first night’s hotel and each household was provided with a $750 stipend and $1,000 from Peabody Properties to cover immediate costs of relocation,” said Bushashia.
Bushashia added that management and resident services staff members are working daily with families to assist with applications for housing primarily in Westfield where most residents choose to remain and referrals to other supportive services.
“Peabody Properties is working closely with the City of Westfield and Westfield’s director of emergency management, and the disaster response coordinator of the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency,” said Bushashia. “Residents will receive vouchers from some of the provider agencies on Thursday to obtain clothing, food, etc. and furniture donations will be coordinated with individual households.”
During today’s four-hour session, numerous city and state agencies will be on-site in the community room to assist residents one-on-one.
For area residents still wishing to make a donation, Ortona will be at the community room, located in the last row of the complex, on Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and again from 6 to 8 p.m., and on Sunday from 1 to 3 p.m.
On a related note, Kellie Brown, director of operations for the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield, noted that two families were directly involved with afternoon classes that are conducted weekdays in the community room.
“At this time we are helping two families with as much support as possible,” said Brown. “Due to the overwhelming number of donations coming into the community center at Powdermill, the Boys and Girls Club will remain closed until they no longer need the storage space. However, any youth ages 8 and up are encouraged to come to the main site if needed.”
