More than a week later, some hotel fire survivors waiting to receive financial help
As crews tear down the remains of the Francis Drake Hotel, some fire survivors say they're still waiting to receive donations. (FOX 9)
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - While people and businesses have rallied to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the people impacted by the Christmas Day fire at the Francis Drake Hotel, some survivors say they have not seen much of the proceeds.
“My room is a pile of rubble,” said Everette Parks, a Drake Hotel resident. “That’s where my room is now.”
More than a week later, some hotel fire survivors waiting to receive financial help
While people and businesses have rallied to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for the people impacted by the Christmas Day fire at the Francis Drake Hotel, some survivors say they have not seen much of the proceeds.
Thursday, Parks watched as heavy machinery devoured the remnants of his former home at the historic hotel in downtown Minneapolis. Parks says he was frustrated to not get one last chance to salvage something from his unit on the first floor.
“It’s horrible,” he said. “Last night, I came out here and I was kind of hoping we could get some of the stuff out. I had my stuff in plastic bins. I know there was a lot of water. It’s probably unsafe to go in there, although, they have been in there. I was hoping to get out my family stuff.”
Parks, who says he paid rent and worked for the Drake’s maintenance staff, is currently staying at the Red Cross Shelter set up inside First Covenant Church that includes warm meals and a not-so-private cot.
Parks says he has heard about the donations raised so far for victims of the Christmas Day fire and wonders when he’ll receive the kind of financial assistance that will help him land stable housing. He insists he can afford a place for about $650 a month.
“As far as donations, we haven’t seen any of that,” he said.
Officials responsible for processing the aid point out they’ve already doled out tens of thousands of dollars in cash, gift cards and to front line community organizations caring directly for survivors’ immediate needs.
“We’ve raised a whole bunch of money that will help these families through The Minneapolis Foundation and right now we do have them in forms of temporary housing, temporary shelter,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey. “Now the goal is to place them in longterm and stable positions.”
According to Hennepin County officials, a Multi-Agency Resource Center is being set up to help survivors create personal recovery plans, find assistance, get through paperwork and access donations. So far, $470,000 has been donated to a fund set up by the Minneapolis Foundation to help the fire survivors. The foundation says their goal is to hit a total of $1 million in donation.
Speaking Thursday, Jo-Anne Stately says the foundation has distributed $146,000 to help cover emergency needs following the fire.
Stately says the foundation plans to send out an additional $250,000 to other community agencies over the next week that Stately says should go towards paying rent, application fees, and other costs to help families find new homes.
"It's been a week since this has happened," Stately further explained. "Our goal is that we get everyone into safe and affordable housing as soon as possible. But, as I said before, this is a challenge because the availability is very small... This is a real difficult case and it's not going to be done overnight."
Fire officials determined which apartment the fire started in, but the cause of the fire remains undetermined.