Community Corner

Bloomfield Family Gets Hope and Support Through Local Charity

Essex County-based charity aided family that lost everything after fire.

Ruben Lopez and his family’s lives were put in free-fall last year.

Their home and possessions were lost to a fire. But after months of struggle, Lopez, his wife and three children, Alexander, Daryl and Amy found hope through a local volunteer organization and a township grant program.

“I was in the house cooking and I heard the alarm,” Lopez said. “My kids came in and said the alarm was going on. I went up to the third floor and looked up and saw the whole ceiling was on fire.”

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Lopez had lost his job delivering parts for Nissan before the fire. With few resources and no relatives nearby, he had to rely on the Bloomfield Department of Health and Human Services office for help navigating emergency housing programs from local  services.

The Lopez family qualified for Essex County Social Services Homelessness Prevention funding through the Bloomfield Health & Human Services Department. Health & Human Services Department  Supervisor Paula Peikes worked with the Lopezes to find an apartment for the five-person family and use grant money for initial move-in costs.

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But while they had a home, their children’s clothes or school supplies were destroyed in the fire. 

Peikes was able to sign them up for an annual volunteer event called the Back 2 School Store, an annual event organized by the Essex County section of the National Council of Jewish Women where Underprivileged children in kindergarten through fifth grade receive clothes and school supplies of their choice in a mock department store setting.

Working with a volunteer personal shopper, the children spend 45 minutes walking through the store-like setting, choosing brand-new clothes and school supplies donated from stores and other sources.

Peikes was happy to involve the family with the program.

“They love it,” Lopez said. “They went in there and they’re able to choose what they like and they’re happy.”

The program is in its fifth year and has become the NCJW’s signature effort, aiding 600 families in 2012, tripling its reach since its launch.  NCJW/Essex President Karen Cherins president said that the program helps make children want to go to school.

“We did some research that showed that children who are not prepared are less likely to want to go to school,” Cherins said.

These are kids who don’t often get the opportunity to make those choices,” Peikes said. “To be able to have that was wonderful for them. And everybody treated them with such respect.”

“They go in ready to learn,” Peikes said. “They don’t have to be embarrassed. You can’t take notes and do what you’re supposed to if you don’t have a notebook. This puts them in the game. You can’t play if you’re not in the game.”

The NCJW requires a referral from a social service agency for families to take part in the shopping day. If you are a Bloomfield resident and believe you or someone you know may qualify, call 973-680-4017 to schedule an appointment or request additional information.   


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