London fire survivors: ‘When will we get our lives back?’

LONDON — It has been almost three months since the inferno that tore through Grenfell Tower, a public housing complex, killing at least 80 people and leaving hundreds more homeless. Yet in that time, only 24 households out of 158 have been placed in permanent housing.

The survivors’ frustration at the slow pace, building through meeting after inconclusive meeting of the local governing council, boiled over late last month. Traumatized by the loss of family members and neighbors, they told the officials they were looking for help rebuilding their lives but finding little or none.

“Where is the support,” one man shouted. “When will we get our lives back?”

The outrage grew, finally becoming so fierce the councilors just fell silent, staring at their feet.

Last week, government officials committed around $90 million to finding and buying properties to meet the needs of survivors, but said the whole allocation process could take up to a year.

Meanwhile, hundreds of survivors remain in limbo in 49 hotels scattered across London.

“They say they will listen to our needs, take us into consideration, give us what we want. But each week we come back from these meetings with nothing,” said Rachel Layton, whose mother lived in Grenfell Tower and survived the fire and whose sister is still missing. “If all the residents had been rich this would have been sorted by now.”

In another recent meeting with council representatives, dozens of people stormed out.

Why, many fumed, was the local governing body, the 50-member council representing the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea — one of the wealthiest in the country — unable to provide even a firm time frame for when they would be rehoused?

The responsible authorities say they are doing everything they can, working at a pace set by the individual families, trying to identify their needs so they can be assigned top-quality housing that matches their needs.

Many Grenfell families have rejected housing offers because the properties are too far from their local community or because they are too traumatized to go back to living in a high-rise building.

Elizabeth Campbell, the council leader — who in past meetings had been called on to resign — said housing was being allocated through a priority system that put survivors who lost family members first, followed by those who are disabled and then families with children.