Mayor and Somerville Homeless Coalition Activate Emergency Fund for Somerville Fire Victims; Call for Community Donations

You can help. On Sunday, August 10, 18 Somerville residents including three children, as well as pets, were displaced by a fire on Powderhouse Boulevard that left nine apartments at Clarendon Hill Housing uninhabitable. Water damage impacted additional neighboring units as well. Fortunately, after multiple rescues, everyone got out safely, but significant challenges remain for our neighbors who now face replacing their ruined belongings from prescriptions and personal products, to beds, food in their pantries, and school clothes and supplies.  

Fortunately, the Somerville Housing Authority is working swiftly to rehouse these residents, and City departments and partners are coordinating temporary shelter and supports while those units are readied, but your help is needed as our neighbors rebuild their lives. 

Most have lost all or most of their belongings. If you are able, please donate to the Somerville Homeless Coalition’s EMERGENCY FUND to both help them put their lives back together and to let them know their community cares. Donations of any size will help. An outpouring of support for victims of the recent Wheatland fire to this fund made all the difference in helping them back on their feet. 

The fund is designed to provide immediate relief to the affected residents and will help other neighbors in need as they face future emergencies. Your financial donation will support a range of needs from meals, household products, and transportation to pet supplies, shoes, and more. 
“Once again our brave firefighters were there to save lives, and now the work of recovery begins,” said Mayor Katjana Ballantyne. “As our staff surge supports, the community can become part of the caring response by supporting the Somerville Homeless Coalition Emergency Fund, which can quickly provide the kind of direct help to individuals that makes all the difference in a crisis.” 
 

How to Donate

• You can donate at bit.ly/SHCEmergencyFund and select "Emergency Fund" to support these families, students, and residents.
• No donation is too small.
• Only financial donations are sought at this time.  

Persons with disabilities who need auxiliary aids and services for effective communication (i.e., CART, ASL), written materials in alternative formats, or reasonable modifications in policies and procedures to access the programs, activities, and meetings of the City of Somerville should please contact Adrienne Pomeroy in advance at 617-625-6600 x 2059 or apomeroy@somervillema.gov.  

 If you need assistance translating or understanding this information, please call 311 (617-666-3311) or contact us at somerviva@somervillema.gov. The City of Somerville can provide you with an interpreter for free.