- Many neighbors in Berrien County are still without power and cell service one week after Helene.
- Truck loads of supplies including meals ready to eat, water, tarps, and bags of ice have been unloaded all week in Nashville, where neighbors have been volunteering their time and efforts.
- The National Guard was also deployed to lend a helping hand to relief efforts.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
An entire week after Helene and many Berrien County neighbors are still in without power and off the grid. I'm First To Know Meteorologist Riley Winch in the Nashville neighborhood where neighbors are still handing out supplies and getting their neighbors through the storm.
"The devastation was like we've never seen"
Berrien County neighbors are still in shock from the extensive damage within their community a week after Helene.
While Marty Faulkner tells me many in Berrien County were not prepared to go through the eye of a hurricane, he was quickly given the role of site coordinator for the Nashville distribution center.
"We've given out a lot, several semi-truck loads. But we do still have plenty of supplies at this location."
And there has been a lot of help at this site to get supplies handed out.
One of those volunteers is Sherrie Williams.
"You can see behind me the community members that are here, we've been here all week long."
And as you can imagine, this was not an ordinary week.
"The first couple of days it was hundreds of cars in line and there was never a break in the traffic. It's not as busy as it has been, so that lets me know people are getting the resources that they need."
In addition to help from locals, the site has also benefited from the deployment of the National Guard. Kaitlin Samuel is a specialist with the army based out of the Atlanta area.
"We're on a mission right now just to come down here, help families in need, give out water and food and tarps to families."
This is her first deployment to a disaster zone. When I asked her what stood out about this mission, she told me, "just seeing the devastation, this is a small community, but they're all so close. And just seeing, you know, how it's affected everyone is really hard to see."
And even though neighbors like Sherrie are working around the clock to help their community, they are still dealing with the challenges of Helene's recovery themselves.
"Just this morning my cell phone was flashing the SOS mode again and we couldn't get calls out. So it's been very spotty."
While ensuring me the Nashville and Berrien County communities will make it through this storm, Sherrie emphasized that right now "everybody's paying attention, there's a lot of efforts happening. I just hope long term that we can continue to do that and support families."
The unity of the community is something Berrien County neighbors have been telling me they're most proud of in addition to all the helping hands they've seen throughout this storm recovery process. From the Nashville neighborhood in Berrien County, I'm Meteorologist Riley Winch, ABC 27.
