At 191 E. Rebecca St. in East Palestine is the new location of the Norfolk Southern Family Assistance Center. The center will officially open its doors at 10 a.m. Tuesday and replaces the New Waterford location. The railroad signed a two-year lease to put down roots in what was the former Rebecca’s Place Banquet Hall. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

EAST PALESTINE — East Palestine residents impacted by February’s Norfolk Southern train derailment will no longer have to leave the village to seek support from the railroad when the Norfolk Southern Family Assistance Center opens its doors at 191 E. Rebecca St.

Norfolk Southern repurposed Rebbeca’s Place, a former banquet hall, to put down permanent roots in East Palestine. The railroad signed a two-year lease at its new location, which replaces the Family Assistance Center at the Abundant Life Church in New Waterford.

“We are here to answer questions, we are here to offer assistance and we are here for the long haul,” Senior Director for Norfolk Southern Will Harden said on Thursday. “Just because we have a two-year lease in Rebecca’s Place doesn’t mean we are going anywhere. We are here for the long term. When we say that, we mean that.”

The New Waterford location officially closed at the end of the day Thursday and the permanent East Palestine location will open to the public at 10 a.m. Tuesday. The center will be open from 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. No appointments are required. Anyone impacted by the disaster is encouraged to stop by the center or call 800-230-7049.

It’s been over 100 days since the derailment and, to date, the NF Family Assistance Center has helped over 9,000 families in the wake of the rail disaster. The new location expects and hopes to offer more ongoing support for East Palestine and the surrounding communities. Harden welcomes anyone who may have concerns or questions to the center as different people need different needs met.

At 191 E. Rebecca St. in East Palestine is the new location of the Norfolk Southern Family Assistance Center. The center will officially open its doors at 10 a.m. Tuesday and replaces the New Waterford location. The railroad signed a two-year lease to put down roots in what was the former Rebecca’s Place Banquet Hall. (Photo by Stephanie Elverd)

“I would say ‘come talk to us.’ Residents can still call the 800 number or come here to Rebecca’s Place and meet with us,” Harden said. “Every situation is unique. You can’t put all the residents in a one-size fits-all box. We want to help see that individual needs are met. Come talk to us. That’s what we are here for.”

In the early days of the disaster, Norfolk Southern set up its first assistance center at the community room at the city park as evacuated families within the 1-mile radius of the derailment received financial support for temporary housing. Two weeks later, assistance operations were moved to the Abundant Life Church in New Waterford. Coming up on the grim fourth month anniversary of the derailment, some families remain displaced. Harden, who has been directing the railroad’s support efforts since the disaster, said Norfolk Southern is continuing to assist those families.

“We talk to those families every day. We know who they are and we recognize how hard this has been on them,” Harden said. “We are going to continue to assist them and everyone else that has had lives turned upside down by all of this. We are here and we will see this through until the end.”