HUD Volunteers Assist Survivors of the Gatlinburg, TN Fires

Kellie Stines, HUD Public and Indian Housing, and Linda Foulks, Tennessee Housing Development Agency (THDA), provide assistance to victims of the fire disaster.

Multi-Agency Assistance Center is located at 2655 Teaster Lane in Pigeon Forge.

Knoxville HUD Office volunteers are helping victims of the fire disaster in the Smoky Mountains and Gatlinburg over a two-week period which began in mid-December, 2016. Joining 17 other agencies at a multi-agency resource center opened at the former Belz Factory Mall in Pigeon Forge, HUD is providing housing assistance and disaster related information to affected individuals and families.

"HUD working in conjunction with other state and local partners is assisting families to recover from the disaster and helping them to find temporary and permanent housing," said Ed Ellis, Knoxville Field Office Director. "It's hard work but absolutely needed and worth it."

The multi-agency resource center, located at 2655 Teaster Lane in Pigeon Forge, is open from 10 to 6 Monday through Saturday through December 23. The center provides assistance to survivors with food and clothing needs, permanent and temporary housing needs and job opportunities. On the first day of the center's opening, HUD volunteers were able to assist 85 survivors.

Other agencies providing assistance along with HUD are the Tennessee Housing Development Agency, Human Services, Children's Services, Tennessee Labor and Workforce Department, Tennessee Highway Patrol, Tennessee Veterans Affairs, Tennessee Financial Institute, Tennessee Economic Development, Tennessee Commerce and Insurance, Tennessee Health and Vital Affairs, Sevier County Senior Center, Douglas Cherokee, Volunteer East Tennessee, American Red Cross, Legal Aid of Tennessee, Safe Harbor and Safe Space.

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