BRATTLEBORO — The United Way of Windham County recently announced that it is closing down the Brooks House Fire Fund, and redistributing the remaining donations to aid ongoing relief efforts from the after effects of Tropical Storm Irene.
The Brooks House fire on April 18, 2011, left 68 people without homes and most of their possessions.
Immediately after the fire, the Brooks House Fire Fund was established and the community raised more than $23,000 to aid the displaced residents.
United Way of Windham County was designated the fiscal agent for the fund, and coordinated individual assistance for the residents through service providers, including the Brattleboro office of the state Agency for Human Services, Southeastern Vermont Community Action (SEVCA), the HELP Fund, the Brattleboro Area Drop-In Center, and the state Department for Children and Families' Southeast Economic Services Division.
Each of the 68 tenants eventually found new homes, and received assistance with security deposits and first months' rent, clothing, furniture, and other things needed to successfully move into a new home.
According to the United Way of Windham County, the work was done so efficiently that much of the relocation costs were covered with existing funds within the various state agencies and service providers. As a result, there was a balance of $15,508.02 in the fund.
Since no new requests have been made to the fund over the past six months, the United Way of Windham County's Board of Directors voted to close the fund.
They also voted that $9,508.02 be given to the Southeastern Vermont Recovery Fund, and $6,000 go to the United Way of Windham County's ongoing disaster recovery coordination efforts. Those efforts had previously been funded by The Thompson Trust, the Vermont Community Foundation, and The Holt Fund.