As demolition day for the realty building quickly approaches, the people and businesses who were impacted by the explosion are still looking for answers and support.

Senator Sherrod Brown visited downtown Youngstown to hear some of those concerns and generate ideas on how to help.

"I will help with federal law in any way I can. I will help if possible with federal dollars." Brown said. 

One possible plan to help businesses is reallocating federal dollars to speed up the road construction process to make downtown businesses more accessible for customers.

Owner of Avalon Downtown Anne Mussullo-Sabella said the meeting with the senator felt productive.

"I felt like actually somebody was listening, who possibly had some authority or that at least could direct us in the right direction." Mussullo-Sabella said. 

For people who were forced to evacuate from International towers. Bob Hannon of United Way hopes federal dollars to support the tenants can be made available soon.

"Our funding for those people ends July 15, so the immediate concern is how do we get the funding from July 16 to August 2 to continue keeping them in a hotel?" Hannon said.