Community support has been pouring in for those impacted by a devastating apartment fire in New Westminster earlier this month, seeing thousands of dollars raised as locals show up for their neighbours.
The fire sparked on the afternoon of July 10 and tore through the building. Pinecrest Manor was destroyed, and 150 residents were displaced between it and a neighbouring building.
In the meantime, those who have been displaced are staying in hotels in New Westminster and Burnaby, among other places, according to city councillor Paul Minhas.
One GoFundMe, organized by a woman who lives near Pinecrest Manor, has raised more than $36,000 so far.
“The funds will be 100 per cent directed to residents who are impacted and have lost their homes,” fundraiser organizer Isabella Wang wrote.
“It looks like the building is lost. Along with it, a sanctuary, a home, cherished belongings, medications and necessities, memories, and lives built for the residents in 50 units.”
‘It just comes flooding’
New Westminster Neighbourhood House has been named a beneficiary for the fundraiser, and they’ve been collecting donations of their own as well—accumulating clothes and household items at a donation centre in the gymnasium at Lord Kelvin Elementary School.
Executive director Mary Trentadue told CTV News that the temporary donation centre was closing on Saturday, but hadn’t actually collected any clothing after its first 24 hours open, as the facility was “completely overwhelmed by the community with donations.”
“We have been sorting donations for the past week in order for the residents that were impacted to come in and find some clothing that might support them in the next few days,” she explained, in an interview at the donation centre.
“That’s the thing about New West, when we put out a call for help, it just comes flooding.”
Those displaced by the fire started coming in to fill bags of clothes the day after being forced from their homes, and Trentadue said that continued every day until the facility closed.
“Instead of having to go out and purchase things, they’ve come here to fill their closets for when they find their permanent housing—they’ll have some things to start with,” she added.
“They’ve been so grateful to the community for coming out and supporting them this way. They feel absolutely like this community cares and wants to make sure that they get what they need.”
Trentadue said Neighbourhood House had raised about $125,000 in cash and $30,000 in gift cards for victims of the fire as of Saturday, and suggested that anyone looking to make further monetary donations can do so on the group’s website.
Moms stepping up
More concentrated fundraising has been going on for fire victims as well.
Pamitha De Silva doesn’t live in New Westminster, but said she heard about the fire through a WhatsApp group for Sri Lankan moms in Canada, and decided she’d step up and organize a fundraiser for the eight Sri Lankan families displaced by the fire, despite not knowing them personally.
“The first thing that came to my mind, and not just mine but all moms’ minds from our community, was if there are families with kids, how are they coping?” she said. “We just had to find some way to help them.”
So far, De Silva said donations have been coming in from Sri Lankans all over the world, noting moms seem to have donated the most. She has more than $6,000 for the affected families, which is almost halfway to her goal.
“The response has been amazing so far,” she said. “Everybody came together.”
‘It just kind of went viral’
Meanwhile, New Westminster City Councillor Paul Minhas brought attention to a young couple named Vlad and Karla with an 11-month-old baby who had lost their home to the fire, asking those in the community to step up.
Minhas told CTV News that he met the family when they came into his restaurant, Bagby’s Pub, where he was offering free lunches for fire victims.
“As I started talking to them, and I realized the gentleman desperately wants to work and support his wife, who is taking care of the baby, he didn’t have anything, and so I just reached out, and I put up a post,” he said. “It just kind of went viral.”
Minhas said the support for this family came in so strongly that he had to post an update on Facebook and ask people to slow down on donations for the time being. This level of support is nothing new for New Westminster, as he explained, adding that the city’s population of approximately 90,000 people are always ready to step in and help when someone is in need.
“These people have lost their homes, and I understand fully well how important it is to get them back on their feet and find a place for them that they can start to rebuild slowly,” he said.
“It never will be the same, but at least we can try, and whichever way we try, as the community together, as council, with the upper levels of government, we need to address this issue as soon as possible collectively and help them rebuild their lives.”
