People in the North-West quickly mobilized to help the six students and the family of five who saw their homes destroyed by a fire on Saturday.
Following the tragedy, people, such as the owner of the apartment building that fell prey to the flames, Lisa LeVasseur, and the owner of a daycare, Mélanie Levesque, asked for help from the population to come helping disaster victims.
Within hours, people provided all the clothing the victims needed, as well as other items. A GoFundMe page was also created by Lisa LeVasseur to raise donations. As of Tuesday afternoon, nearly $5,500 had been raised out of a goal of $11,000.
According to her, the occupants lost all their personal belongings and did not have insurance. The money raised will be used to meet the more specific needs of these people.
“We have received a lot of donations from people such as clothing, furniture, dishes, etc., but there are still personal needs specific to each of them that they will not necessarily receive as a donation.”
“At the time, we don’t think about it, but when you start to count everything that can be lost in a fire, it adds up quickly. These are not always essential goods, but when you have to start from scratch, it can be very expensive.”
Instead of feeling sorry for the loss of her property, Ms. LeVasseur made it her goal to participate in the efforts to find new housing for these people and reduce their financial burden.
“We really wanted to try to find them housing quickly so that they could get back on their feet as quickly as possible and return to some semblance of a normal life.”
“My apartment block was a long-term investment and that remains secondary. Even without thinking about it, I thought of the tenants, because there is the building, but there are also humans who are concerned.”
If the objective is exceeded, the surplus will be donated to organizations in the North-West region.
As the students attend the New Brunswick Community College, Edmundston campus, and one member of the family of five is an employee of the post-secondary institution, employees also stepped up to provide support.
The vice-president of development for the CCNB in Edmundston, Cyrille Simard, believes that the efforts of CCNB employees, the community and various community organizations to accommodate all these people are going well.
“They began to work together to see what elements these people needed in order to move in the right direction. The CCNB people intervened directly with the students and there was also the fundraising which was initiated yesterday by Lisa LeVasseur.
Mr. Simard and Ms. Levasseur also learned that the family managed to find another home. As for the students, they should all be housed by the end of the week.
“I don’t have all the details, but it looks good. The (community) response was very quick and effective. People are in better spirits, but it remains dramatic, because they lost several personal effects,” mentioned Cyrille Simard.
Cyrille Simard and Lisa LeVasseur are not surprised by the rapid reaction of the community and the stakeholders concerned.
“People in Edmundston are generous by nature. I think of the owner who lost her building which was an investment she made for her retirement. Seeing her turn around and put her tenants first is a sign of great generosity. It’s beautiful to see,” said Mr. Simard.
“We know that the population of the North-West is very generous. I am not surprised, but there was an effort by several people to ensure that the community mobilized and that help arrived quickly,” added Ms. LeVasseur.
