ST. LOUIS – North St. Louis is still reeling from the magnitude of destruction after a recent tornado tore through the St. Louis region.

Damage seems to be everywhere, but amidst the chaos, there are beacons of hope. 

One of those beacons is Kiana Williams, the vice president of the Montay McLaurin Foundation. The organization helps individuals battling substance-use disorder; however, after seeing the great need for help among the devastation, Kiana has been spending time cooking food and offering supplies to her community.

“This is an underserved community,”  Williams explained. “And they’re without a lot of things of daily living. So we want to try to provide those things back to them and give them the feeling that they’re not alone in these efforts.”

A few blocks away from where Kiana was set up, FOX 2 found Bishop Michael Robinson. 

His church, Hope Nation International Church, and their community organization, City Hope St. Louis, have been working daily to provide warm meals and a peaceful presence to residents of the north St. Louis area.

“People are wondering what’s next for them,” explained Robinson. “And so we want to come and kind of bring some level of peace and comfort. It’s easy to lose hope in a situation like this, but we want to come and help to restore hope.”

Both organizations FOX 2 spoke with encouraged people to join the effort to help heal in the wake of the tornado.

“Get in where you fit in,” Kiana Williams of the Montay McLaurin Foundation urged. “There’s tents set up all over the St. Louis area; wherever you would like to find or feel the need to help  pitch in, the help is definitely needed.”