On Thanksgiving Day, an electrical fire broke out at the Applewood Apartments in the Highland View neighborhood. Eighteen people were displaced from their apartments while most of us were enjoying rich feasts with friends and families. Although the Red Cross was able to find these people temporary housing, they asked for help to meet the need of meals for these families.
On Monday morning checkout time, these families may be able to return to their apartments or they may have no place to go until the repairs are made to the electrical system of their building. The Red Cross representative said that because of the holiday and because many of these people couldn’t afford to have heat during this cold snap, they were able to extend the amount of care they could normally give. However, that will be ending and reaching beyond the scope of what they can further do during this emergency.
If these families are able to return home on Monday, the food in their refrigerators and freezers will be in ruin because of the lack of power. They will need these things replaced because they may not have the means to restock everything lost, including their Thanksgiving meals. There are currently efforts being made to try to meet these needs, but no final word on what can be made available to our neighbors.
These families live in our community. These families are our neighbors. It is our responsibility to take care of one another because nobody wants to find themselves displaced. Let’s work together to offer support during this troubled time for them. If you’d like to step up and help, please contact William Cramer at the Oak Ridge office of the American Red Cross at (865) 483-5641 or call Disaster Services Specialist Betty Kelly at the Knoxville office at (865) 584-2999.
Mare Martell
Oak Ridge
maremartell says
With the second apartment fire displacing many families in the last three days, our neighbors need help through the Red Cross.
William Cramer says
If anyone has any questions about how they can help the all of the people affected by these two disasters you are welcome to call me at (865) 483-5641. I am the manager of the Oak Ridge Red Cross office and I would be happy to answer any questions. If you would like to come by the office in person we are open from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday and the office is located right next door to the Cheyenne Building (next to the hospital) in front of The Children’s Clinic. I cannot give out any specific information about our clients, but if you are interested in getting in contact with them to provide any assistance I can take your information and pass it on to them and have them contact you. I cannot accept any food or clothing donations in the office, but if you are interested, again, I can pass your information on to our clients and have them speak directly with you.
Red Cross helps families with emergency needs following a disaster. We focus on making sure our clients have shelter, food, and clothing immediately following the disaster. We do not stop with short term assistance though. We try to help guide our clients figure out a long term plan to get more assistance and get back on their feet. Although we usually do not provide long term financial assistance, we try to refer our clients to some of the other great agencies in this county who can help them with their recovery long term. We see about 40 families every year in Anderson County who are affected by some form of disaster whether it be fire, storm damage, etc. If you would like to donate to American Red Cross and have your donation be used specifically for disaster relief in Anderson County make sure to note that and Red Cross will honor the intent of your donation as it always does. If you are interested in volunteering with American Red Cross we have many different areas you can help including local disaster relief, national disaster relief, Service to Armed Forces, fundraising, community events, and many many more.
johnhuotari says
Thank you for the additional information, William.
William Cramer says
If you wouldn’t mind John, can you change the contact number in the article? That is the phone number for our On-Call volunteers and is really just for communication between the volunteers and the clients, Red Cross staff, or the fire departments. Sorry for any confusion and thank you!
The best contact number is to call me at the Oak Ridge office at (865) 483-5641 or speak to our Disaster Services Specialist Betty Kelly at the Knoxville office at (865) 584-2999. Betty is responsible for all the disaster operations in Anderson County and does a GREAT job.
johnhuotari says
William, I changed the phone numbers.