Public Employee Press

"Strong DC 37 family" helps school worker after home fire

Everything you own is gone.

We all hope never to face such a nightmare, but this is reality for Local 372 member Razija B. Zovko after a fire raged through her Monticello, N.Y., home on March 6, leaving nothing but the charred framework in its wake.

"Whatever we had burned in the fire," said Zovko, an Annual School Lunch Worker at PS 239 in Queens. Living with her in her home of 27 years were her son, his wife and their two little girls. Nobody was home at the time of the blaze.

The Red Cross offered aid to Zovko and her family, and she turned to DC 37 for further help. She contacted the union's Personal Service Unit, which provided emergency cash to help get her back on her feet.

"Every little bit helps right now," she said

For now, Zovko will continue to rebuild and survive. "Everyone is okay and that is what matters," she said. "Life is more important than possessions."

—Joseph Lopez