ST. LOUIS – Volunteers from across the country are helping storm victims remove heavy debris and tree limbs from around their homes.
“We moved what we could and then we kind of was just like, ‘Okay, what’s the next step?’” Jessica Hurn said. She didn’t know where to turn for help after the tornado.
“I jokingly told my family it seemed like we were walking into ‘Jumanji’ back there; it was so many trees everywhere,” Hurn said.
“Right now, on this block alone, we probably have a half dozen to 10 houses that we can help with here,” Joseph Brewster, Minuteman Disaster Response, said.
Minuteman Disaster Response said volunteers are helping immediately with tree removal.
“Many times, we can help in an afternoon that would take them weeks. They’re already spread thin and already trying to recover from a disaster,” Davis Picklesimer, a volunteer with Minuteman Disaster Response, said.
The volunteers bring all of the equipment with them. Brewster said volunteers are tackling hundreds of work orders in a crisis database.
“Take advantage of the information being passed out. Ask for help. You don’t know who knows. Really just using the community,” Hurn said.