In the week following the six-alarm fire at 877 Willow St., the 243 residents took up temporary shelter with friends and family, moved into motels at their own expense or stayed at the Red Cross shelter in the Willow Glen Middle School gymnasium.

For food and clothing, residents turned to the Red Cross Service Center located at the Willows Senior Center. Case workers and translators interviewed nearly 70 of the families that were left homeless in the blaze and provided each family with a prepaid debit card to help purchase essential items, said Elena Grover, a Red Cross employee.

Although the Red Cross usually only assists the first three days following a disaster, the Santa Clara Valley chapter opted to keep the shelter and service center open for more than a week. "We are going to run the shelter and the service center until these people find homes," said Rex Painter, the Santa Clara Valley Chapter Red Cross chief community services officer, and a Willow Glen resident. Painter added that the biggest challenge was helping the fire victims find affordable housing.

Immediately following the fire, members of the Santa Clara County Housing Services Partnership directed the displaced renters to available resources.

The partnership, run by the Emergency Housing Consortium, offered each family $400 toward their first month's rent or security deposit. Eric Weigers, of the California Apartment Association Tri-County Division, said numerous association members offered vacant apartments to fire victims at a discount.

By March 30, approximately 15 of the nearly 80 families had secured a home, Grover said. In the meantime, the Willow Glen Middle School shelter continued to house nearly 30 people a day.

Red Cross workers at the shelter say many residents spent their days away from the shelter either working or searching for apartments. While some families quickly succeeded in securing a new home, families like the Lizanos are still searching.

"We're six people and the landlords don't want a lot of kids," said Rosa Lizano.

Red Cross case worker Alma Quinonez said victims' anxiety eventually wears off.

"It was helpful for them to talk about it and let it out," Quinonez said. "Now, when people are coming in, people are ready to move to a new home and move on."