REAS Foundation Storm Response - Lending a Helping Hand
Recognizing the severity of damage caused by the ice storm which descended upon us Thursday evening (12/11/08), coupled with the delays in restoring power to the Leadmine/Finlay Road sections of Sturbridge/Fiskdale, the REAS Foundation - in direct concert with and under the coordination of, the Sturbridge Police Department - took the following steps to provide assistance to local residents.
On Friday evening and throughout Saturday, we secured several rooms with our partners at the Publick House at significant discounts for area residents. The strong support we have enjoyed from this historic Sturbridge venue continues to evolve, and we are extremely fortunate for their contributions within our community. Since then we have negotiated reduced rates with others. This has allowed us to place 8 residents locally as hotels have experienced an overflow of people affected by the storm and have been booked as far away as Chicopee. The rooms are paid for by the residents themselves.
Saturday evening we began door-to-door checks on residents in the area. This continues through today (Tuesday) as we have canvassed the entire area 3 times. Calvin Montigny has been tireless in reaching out to residents via our door to door status checks.
Sunday morning we secured complimentary hot shower and respite facilities at the Sturbridge Host Hotel for those affected by the storm. The Host stepped right up in responding to our request for assistance.
Sunday and throughout yesterday, we were able to secure 8 generators – 6 of which have been placed – 2 others are assigned and awaiting placement today.
Those generators were donated by various individuals/organizations we reached out to, with 2 of them coming from our friends at Old Sturbridge Village.
Jeff Tasse has been instrumental in coordinating the delivery of additional resources, along with the operational maintenance of equipment in use.
With the assistance of an electrician who provided below market rates and a two-hour response time from the initiation of our call, we were able to return at least 2 families to the comfort of their homes with heat and running water. This was done by creating bypass or sub panels, which could accept generators large enough to power wells and heating systems. We are hopeful that today we will return 2 other families to their homes.
In addition to the 8 people we were able to secure below market hotel rooms for, we know of at least 8 families who have vacated their homes as the conditions were simply too untenable for them to remain any longer. The numbers on vacated homes has been difficult to pin down as our status checks with area residents (conducted in concert with and on behalf of the Sturbridge Police Department), has resulted in several “no-contacts”. We will continue today to ascertain their status.
The Sturbridge Police Department is maintaining a constant presence in the area while simultaneously conducting status checks on residents. The Fire Department has responded to situations necessitating their services due to sump pumps that were inoperable because of power loss and have helped to negate any significant water damage to resident’s homes. The efforts by our public safety officials has helped to provide reassurance to residents during this difficult period.
Clearly, our efforts during this storm go well beyond our scope of providing energy assistance to Sturbridge seniors, yet they fit perfectly with our fundamental belief in the need for Sturbridge People to Help Sturbridge People. The residents of Sturbridge have been extremely generous with their support of the REAS Foundation and we recognize our obligation in the larger scheme of things, to give as much back to the community as we are capable of.
Rest assured that all of our efforts are coordinated through the Police Department and remain volunteer in nature resulting in no donor funds being diverted to these additional efforts. Our corporate structure and our Federal filing prevent any deviation in the use of YOUR funds. We specifically established ourselves in this manner to prevent “mission creep” or additional efforts from affecting or conflicting with our fiduciary obligation to supporters of the REAS Foundation. We are ever vigilant in remaining focused on our primary mission on behalf of seniors, and such will always remain the case.
As individual residents, who by the nature of our personalities are committed to addressing local challenges with local solutions, we recognize the importance of reaching out to our neighbors during times of unusual stress. To that end, we as individual members within the REAS organization understand the importance and the necessity of extending a helping hand to neighbors in need.
Thomas R. Creamer – Executive Director