'we're just lost': kingston residents displaced by suits fire struggle to find housing
many residents who were forced out by last week's fire in downtown kingston have not returned home and were moved to a shelter wednesday morning.
3 minute read
tammy ball lights a cigarette outside the motel room where she and her partner paul wensing have been staying since a downtown fire forced them out of their apartment in kingston last week.
elliot ferguson
/
the whig-standard
kingston — many of the people displaced by last week’s downtown fire have not yet returned to their homes.
on wednesday morning, about 15 of them, mostly residents of the third floor of 46 montreal st., moved out of the motel rooms they had been staying in and into the city’s shelter system.
the move came a week after a fire and smoke damage rendered their apartments, which are housed above suits nightclub, unlivable. the red cross, and then the city, stepped in to pay for their housing.
workers from home base housing arrived shortly after 11 a.m. to transport the residents from the 7 oakes motel to inn out of the cold.
tammy ball and her partner, paul wensing, were the last residents to make it out of the building on their own, climbing down a fire escape, before the fire department had to start rescuing people.
they said wednesday morning that they were hoping to return to their apartment, where they had lived for two years. both of them are on disability and paid $1,250 in rent. for them, starting over in a new place isn’t an option right now.
“we have been looking, but we are only allowed $915 for lodging,” ball said. “i haven’t been able to find anything that we could afford and that we could even get into.
advertisement
“finding something that’s even remotely in our price range just isn’t possible,” she said. “even the $1,250 was stretching it for us, but we were able to make it work.
“i’m way too old to be dealing like this, that’s for sure. i did the hardship when i was a kid, younger, and i don’t need to do it now.”
ball and wensing said they would likely scrape together enough money to stay one more night in the motel. but after that, they are not sure what they will do.
neither of them like the living conditions at the shelters and they both said moving the residents into the shelter system is not a solution.
“anyone going into a shelter just took somebody else’s bed,” she said.
“we’re supposed to have faith in the city and we don’t anymore,” ball said. “i know it’s not their problem or their fault that we’ve ended up like this, but it’s also not ours either, you know. we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, we’re trying.
“we’re just lost,” she said. “we don’t know what to do and everywhere we’re supposed to get the answers we can’t.”
in a statement wednesday afternoon, the city said it was working with partner agencies to try to find the residents housing.
“immediately following the fire, individuals affected were housed in hotels for 72 hours with support from the red cross,” the city stated.
advertisement
the city assumed support for the residents at the motel on saturday.
“the city is working with partner agencies to connect individuals with available services, and staff will be present at the hotel today alongside partner agencies to help connect individuals with services,” the city stated.
“the city has been informed that some individuals have been able to return to their residence at 46 montreal st,” the city stated. “those waiting to return will continue to be connected to available services with partner agencies. community support and partner agencies are integral to medium-term assistance for those affected.
“the on-scene portion of the fire investigation is complete, however some aspects of the investigation continue, and further information will not be shared with the public.”
tammy ball and her partner paul wensing stand in the motel room where they have been staying since a downtown fire forced them out of their apartment in kingston last week.
elliot ferguson
/
the whig-standard
share story
