Lynn family looks for new home after fire

LYNN – Members of the Chau family said they have always looked to relatives in times of need. But after a Tuesday fire destroyed the extended-family’s home, family members have the same need.”How do we go to each other if we’re all homeless?” Camilla Chau asked Thursday afternoon. “We have a lot of donations from friends and family, they have given us food and clothes, and we’re so grateful for that. But we need a place for all of us. We’re one family, we need for us to have a place to start our lives again.”Firefighters responded at approximately 11:15 a.m. Tuesday to the Chau’s three-unit home at 139 Chestnut St. and found flames at the rear of the 2? story, wooden-frame house.The fire went to three alarms, with flames at one point showing on at least three sides of the second floor of the home. Fire officials predicted the home would be a total loss.Sixteen residents were left homeless, and 14 have been living in a hotel since the event.But the family has to check out this morning, as the Red Cross money available for a hotel stay has been spent.And the family is finding that the normal paths for help are unavailable.”We called everyone, all the resources that the Red Cross gives you,” Chau said. “If we can reach someone they’ll have us fill out paperwork, and then they say, well your income ? due to our income, we’re not qualified for it.”With eight working adults in the household, the Chau family collectively makes too much money to qualify for housing in the Department of Transitional Assistance, the family said.”We went to (the transitional housing) place in Salem, were there almost all day – we come out empty,” Bonthan Phok, who owns the home with his wife, Trang Chau, said. “We went out to Lynn Housing and come out empty.”Camilla Chau said the family even called Boston Mayor Thomas Menino’s office. But they were not residents of the city, so they didn’t qualify for help, she reported.But the Chaus cannot afford to stay in hotels. And finding one home to shelter three nuclear families in an extended family of 16, and two dogs and a bird, is pretty difficult. Especially when trying to restart a life.It is something the Chaus understand well.Camilla Chau said her brother-in-law and sister purchased the home in 1994, and it has since provided shelter for many relatives and friends who needed a place to stay after immigrating to the United States from the family’s home in Cambodia.”Anybody that needed a place to stay, they could stay at the apartment temporarily,” Camilla Chau said.But with 16 members of the family homeless, it is impossible to rely on family members for support.So Thursday night, the family was unsure what they were going to do this morning.”We just need a place to sleep to stay, we can all crush in one apartment, we don’t care, we just need a place to get our life back,” Chau said. She noted that the children have not been to school and the adults have not been to work since the fire.Red Cross spokesperson Kat Powers said she hoped that the community could help out now that the limited funds from the Red Cross have been expended ? and the winter was just beginning.”I know that it’s not a permanent solution, but we want to help them with recovery and finding a permanent home,” Powers said. “I’m also aware of fact that there are going to be more fires on the North Shore this winter and we would love to have some help. There are landlords that can step up and help.”Meanwhile, like in every tragedy or difficulty they have faced, the Chaus are working together.”This is the thing, family is very close and we help each other out whenever we can,” Phok said.Chau agreed.”Thank God we have each other, everyone’s OK.”