Pioneer Valley Red Cross Executive Director Rick Lee said the closing of the shelter after nearly a month represents a water-shed moment in the tornado recovery.
Sonia Burke of American Red Cross Pioneer Valley, left, hugs Deborah Flores on Wednesday as Flores prepares to check out of the emergency shelter at the MassMutual Center. Flores was one of the last remaining tornado victims in the facility on its final day.
SPRINGFIELD - As she packed the last of her belongings into a van Wednesday, Deborah Flores laughed and cried.
“It’s such a mix of emotions. I met a lot of great people here, but it will be so good to finally sleep in a real bed,” said Flores, the last person to leave the Red Cross shelter at the MassMutual Center.
The shelter closed its doors Wednesday, after four weeks of helping families who lost their homes to the June 1 tornado that rampaged from Westfield to Sturbridge, leaving thousands homeless and causing more than $100 million in damage.
The anniversary was marked by events including a Springfield fund-raiser, a West Springfield prayer service, a donation distribution, and status updates by hard-hit communities.
“The closing of the shelter is a watershed event for us because it means that we have come to the end of the emergency stage and the city can now move on to the recovery stage,” said Rick Lee, the executive director of the American Red Cross of Pioneer Valley.
Lee said many agencies came together to make the shelter work.
“This was a community disaster that required a community result, and the level of cooperation and collaboration with the city, the MassMutual Center and so many agencies has been extraordinary,” he said. “This was an event like nothing I have ever seen in 27 years of working with the Red Cross,” he said of the tornado.
Red Cross volunteer Mary Noll moves a cart full of personal items while helping a resident of the shelter move out. The shelter in the MassMutual Center closed Wednesday.Lee credited the MassMutual Center for helping the shelter operate smoothly.
Terry Bischoff, a spokeswoman for the American Red Cross, said 1,100 victims registered for the shelters in Springfield and West Springfield. Most recent figures showed there were 27 people remaining, including some families and who have not found permanent housing and will be moved to hotels, including Flores.
“I haven’t been able to find something yet, and I have been looking since the day after everything happened,” said Flores, who said she lost her home in Puerto Rico in 1989 to Hurricane Hugo.
Bischoff said the Red Cross is working with local agencies to get homes for everyone who is in transitional housing. Until then the Red Cross will pay for them to stay in hotels.
Bischoff said more than 600 volunteers from across the country assisted families, including 200 local volunteers.
In West Springfield most displaced people being sheltered at the Eastern States Exposition have found apartments and will be moving Friday, said Mayor Edward Gibson. The city will continue to work with those who do not have shelter, he said.
As the last few families exited the MassMutual Center, city officials and residents participated in a cookout for tornado relief across the street in Court Square, where the tornado downed large trees on its path to the South End.
During the event, organized by the Springfield City Council and the Spirit of Springfield, people paid $5 for a hamburger or hot dog, chips and a drink. Friendly’s also sold $2 ice cream cups.
“Everything was donated, from MassMutual donating tables, to Performance Food Group, who donated the food, to Friendly’s and O’Brien’s Corner. There were so many generous people who helped,” said Judith A. Matt, president of the Spirit of Springfield.
Amid remnants of downed trees from the June 1 tornado, people enjoy the City Council Cookout to benefit residents affected by the storm.“The proceeds will be divided equally among the neighborhood councils in the South End, Maple High, East Forest Park and Old Hill,” said City Council President Jose F. Tosado.
Elegant Affairs, located on Main Street, donated grills, condiments and staff for the event.
“We are a part of the downtown community, and we were lucky not to be hit,” said owner Peg Boxold. “We wanted to do our part to help.”
In West Springfield, where two people were killed by the tornado, residents gathered at First Congregational Church at 20 Lathrop St. to pray for those whose lives were touched by the storm.
Pastor Jan Powers said the congregation decided to invite the public because “we want our neighbors to know we walk beside them and that they are companioned by God and God’s people.” The church planned to offer those who attended the prayer service a special meal following the service.
First Congregational Church of West Springfield pastor Jan Powers speaks at a prayer service Wednesday for survivors of the tornado. The West Springfield church held a service and dinner to reflect on the tornado and the healing that followed.Renee Charbonneau, 14, and her brother, John, 12, of West Springfield, decided to volunteer their time to help with the meal and set up tables with tablecloths and flowers. “We wanted those who lost their homes and those who live in the neighborhood where the tornado hit and all the residents of West Springfield to know this dinner is for them,” Charbonneau said.
The East Forest Park Civic Association distributed $21,300 raised from a recent fund-raiser to three Springfield neighborhood churches to aid tornado relief efforts in the neighborhood.
The money was distributed in equal payments of $7,100 to Holy Cross Church, St. Anthony Maronite Church and Heritage Baptist Church during Wednesday’s meeting of the civic association.
Civic association President Christopher A. Caputo said the association reached out to the three churches to distribute the money because each has the community-outreach infrastructure in place already to handle the task, much more than the volunteer association.
The money will be used for supplies, food and other essentials for people recovering from the tornado.
The money was the result of a recent fund-raiser at McCaffrey’s Public House, 1171 Main St.
McCaffrey’s owner Robert Gossman, himself an East Forest Park resident, said he wanted to do something to help the neighborhood and the people in it.
“Half my customers are from East Forest Park; half my staff are from East Forest Park,” he said.
All of the proceeds from a cookout at the pub and accompanying T-shirt sales went to the relief effort, he said.
Meanwhile, the tally of the damage continues to rise. An estimated $175 million in damage has been reported by insurance carriers from more than 9,500 claims, according to the state Division of Insurance.
One third of Springfield was hit by the tornado, said Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. So far, 22 buildings have been demolished, 171 condemned and more than 1,000 damaged. A Springfield rebuilding plan is under way.
Representatives of 3 East Forest Park churches display big checks symbolizing the contributions they received from the East Forest Park Civic Association to benefit tornado victims.Robert Tyer, a volunteer with St. Anthony Maronite Church, City Councilor Timothy Rooke, Rev. Anthony Cullen of Holy Cross Church, Robert Gossman of McCaffrey's Public House and his daughter, Angelina, and Pastor Curtis Rowe of Heritage Baptist Church. McCaffrey's raised $21,000 from a fundraiser for East Forest Park tornado relief.Westfield is in the final stages of cleanup from the tornado and has spent an estimated $170,000 in Department of Public Works overtime and private contractor costs.
City officials said the Federal Emergency Management Agency disaster center at Munger Hill Elementary School will close effective Friday after being open to residents and business owners in determining if they qualify for disaster relief.
Emergency Management Director Jimmy D. Wiggs said, “The final cleanup involves remaining tree debris in the Munger Hill School area as well as some city-owned land in that area.”
Storm-related costs are rising in Monson and could reach $5 million, said Town Manager Gretchen Neggers, who said she hopes the federal government will increase its reimbursement of municipal cleanup costs from 75 percent to 90 percent. “This is approaching 25 percent of our budget,” she said.
The First Church of Monson, which has coordinated the volunteer effort in town, is ending operations Friday, and will be serving its last dinner at the High Street church from 5 to 7 p.m. that night.
The church quickly became the go-to place after the tornado tore through the town and has provided food, supplies and more to residents in need.
“We’ve done more than we expected to do. It’s time for us to go back to being a church,” said outreach coordinator Ted Sisley.
Volunteer coordinators Lynn M. Taylor, of Palmer, and Alison C. Hill, of Monson, will carry on the volunteer coordination through the Internet. They will post on the Facebook page “Monson Tornado Watch 2011” and are creating a new Monson tornado volunteers group so they can continue helping those affected by the tornado.
Republican reporters Suzanne McLaughlin, Patrick Johnson, Lori Stabile, Ted LaBorde and John Appleton contributed to this report.