Some homes in Kilmichael are still in need of repair more than a year after a tornado ravaged the town. A dedicated few have worked tirelessly behind the scenes to make sure no storm survivor gets forgotten.
The Montgomery County Board of Supervisors is utilizing a grant from the Mississippi Emergency Management Association (MEMA) to cover the cost of supplies to rebuild homes affected by the tornado. Among other restrictions, those benefiting from the grant must reside in and pay bills at the home and must not have insurance to otherwise cover the damages. Additionally, the actual labor must be completed by volunteers.
An “unmet needs” committee, also named the DREAM committee, chaired by Dr. Tom Dulin, has been responsible for facilitating the grant. The committee was created specifically to deal with the damage caused by the tornado.
“I’m just trying to help people,” Dulin said.
This desire to help was described by nearly every organization leader.
The committee is assisted by the United Methodist Church of Relief’s (UMCoR) local disaster response team. That local team is headed by Mellie Jordan and Shanta Shannon, who assess and prioritize the damaged houses and find volunteers to provide labor.
Finding volunteer labor has been the number one challenge to servicing the damaged homes. One reason may be that volunteer laborers must be skilled in carpentry. As for volunteer laborers outside of the state, Shannon said the smoldering Mississippi heat may be a deterrent.
“They are more willing to come in August or September when it’s getting cooler,” said Shannon.
On Wednesday of last week, Mennonite volunteers from Kentucky began working on a list of about a dozen homes that remained severely damaged from last April’s storm. The men, all working with the Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), have come at the request of Larry Miller of Macon along with Shannon and the DREAM committee. Miller is the Mississippi and Louisiana Unit Coordinator of MDS.
Miller said that he was delighted that those in some of the more vulnerable living situations were finally getting some relief. The most important thing is to remind the public that there are people who still have yet to be serviced, Miller said.
In just three days, the volunteer workers were able to remove three houses from the waiting list, Shannon said. Eight houses remain in need of repair and one home requires a full rebuild.
With the volunteer now gone, construction is again at a standstill, Shannon said. Any skilled labors wishing to volunteer are welcomed.
According to information provided by MDS, the organization’s goals are to “respond, rebuild and restore” communities affected by disaster.
For Wilma Carodine, MDS did just that. Carodine was among one of the first homes to receive help upon the arrival of the volunteers. Carodine has been living in her home for 35 years.
The storm caused a tree to fall into one of her bedrooms. She was not at home at the time, but her daughter and grandchildren were. Carodine says she remembers getting a distressed phone call from her daughter, who was just overwhelmed. Carodine was told that her grandson had just gotten out of bed in the destroyed bedroom about 10 minutes prior to the tree falling.
For about the first two weeks after the tornado, Carodine’s family was housed by one of her daughter’s good friends. When she returned home to assess the damage, she found parts of her house had been “totally destroyed,” including her shower, the bedroom that the tree had fallen into, and one of her closets, she said.
Carodine’s daughter, who lives in Georgia, returned to her mother’s house and was a big help, Carodine said. “We had to just get it livable,” Carodine said. They put a tarp over the bedroom to prevent any further damage to the home and Carodine moved back in.
“Everything has been everywhere since,” she said.
Many of her clothes were ruined and the items that were salvageable had to be moved into other rooms in the house, forcing Carodine to live in cluttered space, she said.
She was instructed to sign up to be put on a waiting list and kept calling to see if “anybody, just anybody” could help, Carodine said. Her prayers were finally answered and her bedroom and bathroom were repaired last week after more than a year of being uninhabitable.
Carodine, who is physically disabled, said she was most excited to be able to clean up some of her other rooms and move stuff back into the repaired rooms.
Shannon said MEMA had granted up to $250,000. The money will be given in $50,000 increments and is to be used strictly for supplies and cannot be dispersed directly to those affected by the storm.
UMCoR, on the other hand, can use their money to purchase trailers and sometimes pay laborers in the case of a total home destruction. Shannon said UMCoR has already purchased a trailer for one home-owner, whose home was damaged beyond repair. Shannon is waiting to gain approval from the town before giving the trailer.
Meals for the volunteers were provided by the Kilmichael United Methodist Church and the Kilmichael Baptist Church.
Any potential volunteers can call the Montgomery County Economic Development office at 283-4828 to be directed to labor organizers.
