WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — While thousands of evacuees are back home after the Winston Weaver fertilizer plant fire, some have been left with financial burdens after a week away from home. Love Out Loud, a local non-profit is accepting and distributing donations to help those affected.
"We know people were able to go back to their homes but a lot of them went back to their homes having spent the money that they designated for rent this month, or for groceries, or for other essential needs so we are hoping to kind of fill the gap," said Liz Miller with Love Out Loud.
If you need financial help because of expenses during the evacuation, you can request it on the Love Out Loud website. You can also call 336-747-3067. You do need to prove you live in the area, but Love Out Loud says they will accept a wide variety of proof. The website also allows you to donate to the fund.
"It's really our desire to have as little red tape as possible and provide assistance for people who really need it regardless of the circumstances," Miller said.
Crystal Barnes returned home for the first time Saturday. She and her family evacuated Monday. She stayed with family members Monday but then she and her three children got a hotel. The cost added up.
"It was definitely a financial hardship and it was very unexpected," said Barnes.
Barnes and other families were eventually helped by Carissa Joines and her husband who fundraised to help pay hotel room bills for evacuees. Now, Joines and Love Out Loud hope this new effort will help the community in the aftermath. However, Miller said officials need to step up as well.
"We know there are a lot of systems in place in our community that have caused environmental racism, has caused these things to happen to specific groups of people and we don’t want to take the responsibility on our shoulders to make up for that," Miller said. "So one thing that we are really committed to is providing assistance really in this moment for people who need it but also calling the people that were responsible for that, our officials, the big organizations in this community that are able to provide support down the road and asking them to help us in this moment."
As a cancer survivor, Barnes wants city officials to be transparent about the effects of the fire. She isn't allowing her children back home yet and she said she still has a lot of questions.
"I am grateful that I still have a home to come home to it still is a little unsettling," said Barnes.