Residents of the Memorial Park Apartments, a senior community in Rapid City, had to leave their homes after a car crash extensively damaged the structure. Now, they’re asking what comes next.
After a wreck destroyed the homes of dozens of Rapid City seniors, the Black Hills Community Foundation wants to raise funds to support their recovery.
Chris Huber is CEO of the group.
“When individuals in our community are needing help, we have a long history of standing up and helping those out," Huber said. "In this case there’s 61 residents that are living at a hotel because of no fault of their own. There was a horrific car crash that caused them to be displaced.”
Huber said the money is already making its way to organizations.
“We already gave a $3,000 grant to Meals on Wheels, we’ll also work through Pennington County Emergency Management to offset the cost of some of the hotel stays," Huber said. "So, we’ll work with government organizations and non-profit organizations to distribute those funds once they’re raised.”
While the group has committed some money to the recovery effort, Huber said they’re going to need all the help they can get.
“These residents’ lives have been turned upside down," Huber said. "We’re going to seed the fund with $10,000 from our disaster recovery fund here at the Black Hills Area Community Foundation – but we know more funds will be needed.”