Report on Response to the Fire in the Youth School Community

What a year 2020 is proving to be. Back in January, the Youth School community was rocked by a devastating fire that destroyed 150 homes leaving 175 families (roughly 850 people) homeless.

To support this already marginalized community, generous donors stepped up with us in a tremendous way, helping EYC raise $23,238 in a very short time. Now that we are a couple of months out from the fire, we wanted to provide a summary of how the funds were deployed to assist those impacted. A report detailing the support and associated costs is available by clicking here.

In the immediate aftermath of the fire, EYC provided emergency relief support, including food and water, to anyone in the community impacted.  Additionally, some families lived at Youth School while they looked for other shelter.

We immediately surveyed impacted EYC families, along with the most vulnerable members of the community who had no other family support (mostly the elderly and those who were pregnant), to determine needs.

From this needs-assessment, we determined that one month of support to the most vulnerable (predominately EYC families) would have the most significant initial impact. This included: Rent, food, school needs (uniforms, study materials, school fees), kitchen supplies, bedroom items, and toiletries.

This support was provided to 31 families and impacted 39 EYC students.

A total of 146 people were impacted through the aid, including siblings, parents, and extended families.

After one month, EYC found that while situations were still challenging, most of the families had been able to “return to their previous lives.” They were back to some level of stability: they lived in a decent and safe rented space, they had enough food and basic supplies, most adults were back at work, and all students were at school.

In addition to financial support, we received in-kind donations from other EYC schools, donors, and local businesses. Examples of this support are outlined in the complete report referenced above.