Effort in high-gear to aid Meadowbrook fire victims

By Owen Boss

Staff Writer

NORTHAMPTON - Nearly two weeks after a fire at Meadowbrook Apartments left 22 of the building's tenants homeless, the complex's management's effort to find displaced families permanent housing and replace items destroyed is taking shape.

Preservation of Affordable Housing Inc., the nonprofit that owns the complex, announced Friday that it has teamed up with several area businesses and the Northampton Survival Center in an effort to replace the items that families lost in the fire.

The announcement came outside the Survival Center, with Mayor Clare Higgins and center director Heidi Nortonsmith among those present.

To ensure that the collection of donations went smoothly, POAH enlisted the help of local marketing professional Paul Benjamin, who coordinated the contributions from local businesses and created a Web site devoted to the cause.

On the site, www.hampshirecountycares.org, residents can find a list of specific items lost in the fire, a tool Benjamin said will ensure that donated items will suit the needs of the families.

"This is an orderly way to take in, shelve, inventory and distribute these goods," Benjamin said. "We are trying to collect targeted donations that will help these families. The exercise we are asking people to do is look around their own houses and think about what they would need if there was a fire, because some of these people really lost everything."

Stuff-It Storage, which recently fell victim to a fire at its storage facility in Hadley, donated two storage units to the Survival Center for 60 days, and the West Springfield Costco donated collapsible shelves to stock food items. Also, Danco Modern Furniture, at 10 West St. in West Hatfield, volunteered to collect and house any furniture donations..

"The businesses have been great," Benjamin said. "This is the point at which we are asking residents to come to the table and help these folks out."

Residents are encouraged to drop off food items at the Survival Center, at 265 Prospect St., weekdays from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and can bring donated furniture to Danco Modern Furniture weekdays between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.