Schools Assisting With Students Displaced by Fire

By Adam Swift

The school department is working with the town and local organizations to help students and families displaced by the four-alarm fire at a large apartment building at 91 Veterans Road last Friday.

Of the 110 people displaced by the fire, 11 were students in the Winthrop schools, according to Superintendent of Schools Lisa Howard.

“I have been in touch pretty consistently with (Police Chief Terence) Delehanty regarding that piece of property,” Howard told the School Committee Monday night. “There are multiple families that live there, and as of today, we know that we had a total of 11 children who had been displaced.”

She said the majority of the 11 students attend the Gorman Fort Banks school, and that there were also several third graders and two ninth graders displaced by the fire.

In a situation such as a large fire that impacts the community, Howard said the schools work with the police and fire departments, the Town Manager and Town Council, and local organizations to get to the families who are in need to figure out how to best help them.

Many of the people who were displaced went to temporary housing in hotels in East Boston and Saugus, Howard said.

The school department has reached out to the families with students to help determine their needs and how they can best move forward.

“We let them know we are aware of what’s happening with them and ease the burden of school and understanding about student attendance,” said Howard. “We find out what they need in terms of transportation. They are technically considered homeless (because) they have been displaced, so it is the school department’s responsibility to find the students and bring them to school, back and forth to where they are temporarily housed.”

Howard said the schools also work with others in the town to make sure the students have access to clothing, food, and other essential resources.

“Some of the students were not able to get back into their property, and some of the property was so badly damaged that their things were lost,” said Howard.