BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Some families displaced by a January 14 fire at the North Temple Ave. Studios have moved into permanent housing, while others are lodging in temporary living quarters arranged by a local nonprofit.
JoAnna Weldon, founder and CEO of Answers Health and Resource Facility, said that of the 20 families displaced by the blaze, her group has helped two find permanent housing, while another five are staying overnight in a church. She said the other 13 families arranged for their own accommodations after the fire.
Weldon added that her organization provided supplies and food to several families that found alternative living quarters on their own.
Bradford County Fire Chief Ben Carter said overheated electrical extension cords likely caused the Sunday afternoon blaze. He added that the fire quickly spread through the building because the units in a converted motel share a common attic.
Weldon said the American Red Cross provided each family with a cash stipend that allowed them to stay in hotels for one week.
She added that her group met with 15 families and helped them with clothing, household supplies, and counseling.
Weldon said she called Family Promise, a Gainesville-based group that provides temporary housing using church buildings.
“We asked them if we could adopt their model and use it here, and they said absolutely,” Weldon recalled. “So, we found a vacant building which can be used from 3:30 p.m. until 9:30 a.m.”
The Answers CEO added that during the day, the displaced individuals can stay at the Answers Starke location if they don’t have a job or school to attend.
Weldon said that churches and families have offered meals to the victims, which Answers is coordinating on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays.
“We make sure that we have enough for lunch and then an overflow into a to-go box for them to take home for dinner,” she said. “We’re trying to cut down on any costs that they might be having to spend on food, and then we also deliver a meal on Sunday night for them to have that evening.”
Weldon said her nonprofit also provides gift cards from local restaurants for the victims to use on weekends.
The Answers Raiford Road facility is stocked with food that can be easily heated up in a microwave and toiletries, soaps, shampoos, and other supplies.
In addition, the nonprofit is storing donations of household linens for the victims, and those contributions have exceeded the needs of the families.
“The community has been really, really great about donating items like sheets, bed linens, blankets, and towels,” Weldon said, “all of the things that they’re going to need when they get ready to start over as they’re moving into a new home. We are not taking any more donations. We are full to the brim. “It’s been great, and our families are just really, really thankful to have a roof over their heads.”
Weldon said United Way and Family Promise are also helping victims transition into permanent housing by providing families with first and last month’s rent and a security deposit.
Weldon said that so far, the groups have helped a single dad with a seven-year-old daughter move into a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment.
“And then we have a married couple with no children,” she added, “and they found an apartment at Heritage Villas last week, and so we were able to get them moved in there.”
Weldon said that a fund her group established to finance housing for the victims is now being used to fund care packages for the families. The packages include cooking utensils, trash cans, bags, and other items families typically need when moving into an empty apartment.
“So that they can just move in comfortably and have their necessities already taken care of, and then they can build from there,” she said.
