Family waiting to see if they can repair home after fire
PLEASANTVILLE, N.J. » For Jose L. Morales and Amanda Naylor, the heartbreak of losing their family’s possessions during a house fire Oct. 24 has been followed by more than a month of frustration.
The family of six is staying in one room at the Homestead Lodge on the Black Horse Pike while they talk to public adjusters, their insurance company and their mortgage company to see what will happen to their fire-damaged home on Linden Avenue.
“We can’t afford to stay here and pay a mortgage,” said Naylor, 33.
Naylor and the couple’s three daughters were not home at the time of the fire, but the children’s father, Morales, and their youngest child and only boy, 5-year-old Jose “Bubba” Jr., were.
To escape the burning house in time, Morales threw his son from a secondfloor porch into the arms of a stranger who was passing hurry up and do something,” Naylor said. “There are people here (still at Homestead Lodge) from Hurricane Sandy.”
The assistance the family received that was most needed and was most helpful was $1,300 in emergency assistance from the American Red Cross. That allowed them to buy some clothes, as all their clothing was destroyed in the fire.
Laura Steinmetz, communications director of the Red Cross’ New Jersey region, said families who lose their home in a fire will receive a client assistance card that provides immediate help, but they also receive a referral packet for the county in which they live that provides further assistance.
The $1,300 the family received from the Red Cross was provided to the agency head, said families affected by fire can visit his department’s offices Monday through Friday at 1333 Atlantic Ave. in Atlantic City.
They can fill out paperwork to see whether they are eligible for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families or Comprehensive Emergency Assistance, or SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, known commonly as food stamps.
Naylor said she has been to the county offices twice and had her least luck there, but hopes the SNAP benefits she already receives will increase.
As the parents deal with trying to secure permanent housing for the entire family, they are trying to keep life normal for Bubba; Ellena Morales, 11; and Tyeisha Morales, 13.
Their oldest child, Tatiana Morales, 18, who helps make sure her younger siblings continue to attend school, started a GoFundMe page for the family at gofundme. com/4oydvbc.
“Now, it’s so chaotic. It’s not a daily routine anymore,” Naylor said.