A Christmas story in Somerville

City officials provided some much needed holiday cheer this week for two local famili es struck by recent tragedies.
  Clarendon Towers resident Joseph Baiungo‚Äôs insurance company had denied him a motorized wheelchair despite his immobility. However, the city‚Äôs 311 customer service center was able to provide a connection to another Somerville resident who donated a motorized wheelchair and bed lift after hearing about Baiungo‚Äôs problems on a recent television news report.  The Department of Public Works (DPW) got in on the holiday spirit as a DPW truck and crew picked up the donated items and delivered them to Baiungo the same day.

  Mayor Joseph A. Curtatone said the Baiungo story pulled at his heartstrings until he learned help was already on the way.
  ‚ÄúWhen I saw the news story about Joe Baiungo on Channel 5, I asked our staff to see if there was anything we could do, but it turned out that people had already started calling 311 and the TV station with offers to donate wheelchairs.  The constituent service reps in the 311 center matched the donor offers to Mr. Baiungo‚Äôs needs, determined that one of the wheelchairs was the right model, made sure it would fit in the doors, corridors and elevators of the Clarendon Towers and called DPW to arrange delivery.‚Äù
  But that was not the end of local goodwill stories. In a separate episode, the Pinckney Street home of George DeSouza and Gilvania Olivera was heavily damaged by a fire Thursday, Dec. 21, leaving them temporarily homeless along with their two young daughters. Among the many items destroyed in the fire were all of the children‚Äôs Christmas gifts. At the request of Curtatone, the Council on Aging stepped in to provide Christmas gifts for the girls, while Curtatone collected cash donations to assist the family.
  Curtatone also coordinated efforts to provide Christmas gifts and cash assistance to the East Somerville family left temporarily homeless by a two-alarm fire on Thursday afternoon.   
  On Friday afternoon, Curtatone met with Olivera to pass along cash donations raised in the previous 24 hours ‚Äì including a contribution from the Somerville Municipal Employee‚Äôs Association – and to discuss her family‚Äôs longer-term needs and plans.
  ‚ÄúYou never want to see people suffer misfortunes like these, and it‚Äôs especially sad to see it happen during the holidays,‚Äù said Curtatone. He said the generous response of residents and local government was typical for Somerville. 
  ‚ÄúSomerville city government and our incredibly generous residents can be counted on to help people in need at any time of year,‚Äù he said.  ‚ÄúBut we all want to go the extra mile at Christmastime.‚Äù 
  Ward 7 Alderman Bob Trane said local holiday spirit is too strong to be dampened by one hardhearted insurance company. Trane helped deliver a new wheelchair to Baiungo‚Äôs home. 
  ‚ÄúIt looks like the Grinch in this case is the insurance company, but it‚Äôs nice to see that Santa has plenty of helpers here in Somerville,‚Äù he said.