Relief effort underway to assist people displaced by apartment fire

WILKES-BARRE — An emergency relief effort is underway to assist the more than 100 people displaced by the deadly fire earlier this week at the Genetti Apartment complex.

The United Way of Wyoming Valley and the American Red Cross are accepting monetary donations to meet the immediate needs of the people displaced with an eye on getting them back on their feet for the long term.

“This isn’t going to be a short-term fix. It’s going to take a while and help is needed,” said Bill Jones, president and CEO of the local United Way.

Jones joined Sherry Nealon, executive director of the American Red Cross Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter, on a conference call Friday to discuss the coordinated response by government and non-profit organizations.

Nealon said Jones was able to quickly connect with the local organizations for the call. Jones estimated 18 people participated, including Luzerne County and Wilkes-Barre officials, Volunteers of America, Catholic Social Services, Keystone Rescue Mission, the Salvation Army and the Commission on Economic Opportunity.

The county has services available for mental health, families, seniors and emergency management among others, Jones said. “EMA is going to be working with the Red Cross to see if setting up a shelter is feasible and practical,” he said.

Starting Monday the Salvation Army, two doors down from fire-damaged apartment building, will host a donation site for food, clothing and furniture, Jones said.

The Red Cross opened 100 cases for the 124 people, including seven children, forced from the downtown apartment building by a fire Tuesday morning that killed one man. Of the total 82 cases are for single-person households, Jones said.

“Right now with the pandemic, we did not open a mass shelter. They’ve gone to individual hotels or housing of their choice,” Nealon said.

The majority of them left the building with what they had on, Jones added.

“Many, many, many of these individuals are very low income with limited resources,” Jones said.

It doesn’t appear that the displaced people will be able to return to the Genetti apartments for a while. So the goal is to provide housing for them so they can start to rebuild their lives. The Red Cross is asking for donations to deal with short-term emergency expenses, while the United Way is looking to address the long-term recovery needs.

• Donations can be mailed to: The American Red Cross Northeastern Pennsylvania Chapter, 256 North Sherman St., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18702. Online donations can be made at redcross.org, and indicate the funds are for Disaster Services for the NEPA chapter.

• Donations also can be made to: The United Way of Wyoming Valley, 100 North Pennsylvania Avenue, Second floor, Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701. Online donations can be made to www.unitedwaywb.org. Jones said 100% of the donations will go toward the relief effort and none of it will be deducted for administrative costs.

• The Salvation Army, 17 South Pennsylvania Ave., Wilkes-Barre, PA 18701 will accept donations at the rear of the building from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Clothing, furniture and non-perishable food items will be accepted for two weeks. The clothing must be usable and clean. Used mattresses and outdated food items will not be accepted.

The donated items will be sorted and placed in the gymnasium for the fire victims to select from. It will be on a first-come, first-serve basis. No items will be saved for pickup and none will be transported. The fire victims are asked to call ahead to make an appointment at 570-824-8741 and bring a letter from the Red Cross and, if possible, ID.