American Red Cross Assistance Continues to Plumley Village Residents

Volunteers to Conduct Home Outreach Visits

Worcester, MA, Jan. 03, 2007 – As relief efforts continue, volunteers from the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts will begin to conduct home outreach visits tomorrow to each of the residents displaced by last week’s fire at Plumley Village. The visits have been scheduled in conjunction with mental health workers from Community Healthlink in an effort to ensure that each of the client’s individual needs have been met.

To date, over 70 Red Cross volunteers and paid staff have worked on the relief effort, interviewing the head of household from 79 units, conducting damage assessments and meeting with individual clients to determine their specific needs. Red Cross volunteers anticipate opening cases for residents from an additional 57 units who have not yet registered for assistance. Representatives from the American Red Cross, City of Worcester and Plumley Village property management team continue to meet on a regular basis to ensure the residents are receiving the resources they need in a timely manner.

The Plumley Village fire marks the 50th local disaster relief response for the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts since July 1, 2007. Since the onset of the fiscal year, 486 central Massachusetts residents have been displaced by home fires, 23 of the incidents occurred in the City of Worcester.

“Keeping in mind that the months of January and February are our busiest time of year, we are beginning to grow concerned about the status of our local disaster budget,” stated Nicole Valentine, director of emergency services for the American Red Cross of Central MA. “We are five months into our fiscal year and have already responded to 50 house fires, we are now turning to our community for their support. Many do not realize that we are mandated by the federal government to provide disaster relief, however, we are not federally funded.”

You can help the victims of this and other local disasters by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance. Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to: The American Red Cross of Central Massachusetts, 2000 Century Drive, Worcester, MA 01606, or make a secure donation online.

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