Melrose Mayor Warns Of Low Emergency Funds: Update

MELROSE, MA — The city announced that it has raised more than $10,000 in donations toward the city's emergency fund throughout the last several weeks.

Mayor Jennifer Grigoraitis announced in November that the fund had reached a dangerously low balance of $50,000.

The fund was established in 1996 by former Mayor Richard Lyons with the purpose of providing relief for and aid to residents in emergency situations with the help of financial donations.

“When a retiree on a fixed income faces an unexpected bill to repair a broken hot water heater, the Emergency Fund can help,” Grigoraitis said in a statement. “When a single parent awaiting their first paycheck at a new job is unsure how to pay the rent, the Emergency Fund can help. And when, as in 1996, families are displaced by fire or disaster, the Emergency Fund can help.”

Grigoraitis’s endorsement of the need to replenish the fund was backed up by Lyons, along with former mayors Paul Brodeur, Gail Infurna, Rob Dolan, and Patrick Guerriero.

Since then, more than 20 individuals and organizations have made financial contributions.

" We have been humbled and overwhelmed by the generosity of this community," Grigoraitis said.

Donations to the fund are accepted in the form of a check and can be mailed or brought directly to City Hall. Donations can also be made electronically on the city’s website.