Assistance Update: Families Impacted by Wellington Street Fire Receive $250K Aid, Including Housing and Entrepreneurship Training

Families impacted by last year’s fire in Wellington Street, The City are getting about a quarter-million dollars in assistance, which includes accommodation, repairs to their homes and entrepreneurship training.

This was revealed by Member of Parliament for The City, Corey Lane, in an update nine months after the May 5, 2024 blaze that affected 57 people. Of the 21 homes some of which are on Oxley Street, Combermere Street and Cypress Street, 19 were directly impacted.

He told the Weekend Nation three fundraising ventures contributed $50 000 in addition to a combined $200 000 from the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust and the Derick Smith Charity.

“Some went directly to the families and then within the office we’ve done up to a sixmonth report. I believe we would have had just under $70 000 left . . . in terms of all the repairs any shortterm and emergency accommodation, helping the five families to outfit the houses with the various appliances,” Lane said.

He thanked several people and organisations, private and public, including the Ministry of Housing and Lands and the newly constituted Resilience and Reintegration Unit which was set up for these types of situations.

Of the 19 homes affected, five were destroyed, three partly burnt and 11 suffered heat, smoke or soot damage. Those five families were relocated rent-free for one year in the Chinese steel frame homes at Whitepark, St Michael.

One of the partlyburnt homes will be fully rebuilt and they discussion are ongoing with the Urban Development Commission to determine what will happen with the other. Repairs to all 11 homes were completed.

Lane said the five families who were hardest hit received business development training to prepare them for sustainable futures as this was part of the conditions for the funding from the Sandy Lane Charitable Trust.

“We have also worked with each family separate and individually to ensure that they are building a sustainability project within their household and that is what gives it the long term because we would not have been able to buy a house for everybody or rebuild a house for everybody with the money,” he said. “One family is doing a valet, one is doing a cleaning company, one is doing sewing, one is doing retail and one is doing repairs. So, each family, we had a business consultant sit down with each of them, built out what were their skills, what were their talents.”

They discovered two people already had business training and one of them had a business. In addition to the training, they also received investment capital for the business.

“So, each of them will have something that will be bringing in funds continuously, which I thought that was important, not only to give them a sustainable income, but to give them back that independence that they would have so much desired.”

Lane said the original plan was to build back those five homes on the 12 000 square feet, but given the population density, they believe better solutions can be found through the Ministry of Housing.

There is discussion to build high-rise housing, which he said would improve the use of space as well as the ambience of the entire area. Those five families will have first option should they wish to return. (SAT)