WORCESTER, Mass. - Trish Depiro said her front door was just feet away from where the roof of a Mill Street apartment complex collapsed.

Now, her home of four years is condemned, and she doesn’t have much, but she does have a lot of questions.

"Why would you put that much weight on top of a roof you know that has some serious repairs," Depiro said. "It is mind boggling to me. It didn't have to happen. They're lucky there was nobody that died."


What You Need To Know

  • The city of Worcester has condemned the apartment complex at 267 Mill Street following Friday's collapse.

  • Tenants of the building had access to social services Tuesday afternoon at the DCU Center.

  • People without a place to go were put up in hotels. Emergency Management and Communications in Worcester said those in hotels will be there through at least this week.

Depiro was one of many of the building's tenants invited to a meeting at the DCU Center Tuesday. Residents without a home were offered services like mental health resources, housing services and assistance from local nonprofits.

"The goal after a disaster like that is to try and get them housed safely, and then try to bring them to a recovery stage where they can start getting their life back on track," said Worcester's Director of Emergency Communications and Management Charles Goodwin.

A red and white 'X' marking the building as uninhabitable is now on its top floor.

For the city's Emergency Management division, disasters like Friday's are something they train for. But, it's training they never know if or when they'll ever use.

"We never expect something like this to initially happen," Goodwin said. "Nothing happens at a convenient time, but we take our situations as they come at us and we make it work."

Depiro is now staying with her best friend while looking for a new place to live. Her permanent home may be gone, but her concern now is losing years of memories.

"I don't care about the furniture at all," Depiro said. "I just want the personal mementos that mean a whole lot to me. It has rattled me pretty bad."