220 buildings have been condemned in Springfield following the tornado, including 514 housing units.
Elected officials Thursday sought long-term solutions to the problems wrought by the June 1 tornado.
U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry visited the MassMutual Center in Springfield and heard that the number of people displaced by the tornado is decreasing.
Springfield residents who lost their homes during the June 1 tornado are being housed at the MassMutual Center.
Helen R. Caulton-Harris, director of Health and Human Services for the city of Springfield, said that earlier this week 372 people were being housed at the MassMutual Center. Immediately following the tornado, there were 500 people staying at the center.
“As of this morning, there were 271,” she said. “We’re going in the right direction.”
Kerry was told that 220 buildings have been condemned in Springfield following the tornado, including 514 housing units. Of those, 139 are single-family homes and the rest are multi-family homes.
Kerry asked what the obstacles are to finding housing for the persons displaced in the tornado.
Kerry was told that people want units in the area so they do not have to travel. They also need to have first and last month’s security deposits to take an apartment.
In Brimfield State Rep. Todd M. Smola, R-Palmer, said Governor Deval L. Patrick filed a supplemental budget of $10 million for tornado assistance on Thursday, and it will be reviewed by the House Ways and Means Committee.
Federal Emergency Management Agency teams still are going through the hard hit areas, doing their assessments.
Smola said that Joplin, Mo., still has not been declared a federal disaster area, even though a tornado struck there on May 22, and 151 people died.
“We wish we could have provided a check in hand yeterday,” Smola said.
Touring Brimfield on Thursday, Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray said the destruction left by the tornado on Haynes Hill Road is difficult to describe, it is so severe.
Christopher Rabbitt stands where his home at 55 Haynes Hill Road in Brimfield used to be.Homes have been transformed into debris piles, while chunks of others are missing, he said.
Murray, who toured Wilbraham, Monson and Springfield Thursday, went to 55 Haynes Hill Road in Brimfield, the home of Christopher J. Rabbit.
The foundaton remains, but little else.
Rabbit was home with his wife and 5-year-old son when the tornado struck. They sought refuge in the cellar.
“I thought maybe we’d have to replace some lawn furniture and windows. I never thought we’d have to replace an entire house,” Rabbit said.
Murray also visited the tornado-ravaged King Street in Monson. Selectmen Chairman Richard Smith said officials are concerned about residents who lost everything who either had no insurance, or who were underinsured. The other problem is removing the demolished homes, Smith said.
He said there are questions about who will pay for demolition if there is inadequate homeowner’s insurance.
Murray also visited the Monson Developmental Center at 171 State St., where a storm assistance center has been set up.
There, displaced residents can meet with state officials from various government departments, including transitional assistance, workforce development, mental health, housing and community development, veteran affairs, along with MassHealth. Residents also can apply for food stamps, unemployment insurance benefits, find temporary shelter and undergo crisis counseling.
Clothing for residents is available at Daly Hall and there are laundry facilities for the tornado victims to use. The American Red Cross also is on site.
One state official said 180 people in Monson have been served since Sunday.
State Rep. Cheryl A. Coakley Rivera, D-Springfield, said she wants to make sure the displaced residents are not moved from the MassMutual Center to another temporary site.
Richard A. Lee, executive director of the Pioneer Valley chapter of the American Red Cross, said the displaced persons will not be moved again until they find permanent housing.
In Springfield Coakley-Rivera said 99 percent of the displaced persons in the MassMutual Center are Hispanic. “If they stay on Main Street, the city will not forget about us,” she said.
Lee said the displaced persons will not be moved until they have someplace permanent to go. He said 188 Red Cross volunteers are on the job providing food and shelter for the tornado victims.
“We scrambled at first, because tornadoes usually occur in Kansas, not in Massachusetts,” Lee said.
He praised the MassMutual Center for opening its doors to those in need.