‘What’s going to happen?’: Still no answers for displaced residents

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) – Although there are now a pair of excavators and a crane sitting outside the damaged Realty Building downtown, there’s been little other visible activity and no word when residents of the now vacant International Towers next door will be able to go back home after May’s explosion in downtown Youngstown.

“I think that’s one of the frustrating things,” said Joe Caruso of Compass Family & Community Services. “We can’t tell the people that are asking us and they are the ones that are absolutely being affected. What’s going to happen? What’s my next step?”

On June 15, the 155 residents of the high-rise were forced to leave, many taking whatever they could carry or stuff into boxes or luggage. They were evacuated after engineers said the Realty Building was in imminent danger of collapse.

Initially, the plan was to find shelter for 30 days.

“We are just concerned about what’s gonna happen to these people after July 15 and beyond,” said MyCap Executive Director Sheila Triplett.

Nancy Voitus of Catholic Charities Regional Agency echoed the sentiment.

“Is this going be three more weeks? I don’t know that anybody has that answer but it would–that’s what I think everyone’s looking for,” said Voitus.

While leaders of local social service agencies wait to see what plans are put forth to make the downtown area safe again, bills to shelter all the evacuees are piling up. Within days of the evacuation, the state’s Office of Community Assistance came up with $200,000 to cover just hotel costs, but that’s only for one month.

Directors are also voicing concerns about plans to eventually allow residents to return to their apartments.

“Well, we had 72 hours to move everybody and we got them moved,” said Joe Rossi of Direction Home of Eastern Ohio. “We’re going to have to move them back into their homes.”

“These are our most vulnerable people in our community,” said Caruso. “And they’re going to need all the assistance that they can get.”

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