Tornado Response and Donelson Community Support Day – Saturday, March 7th
My heart goes out to everyone who was in the path of the tornado. The outreach and support from neighbors and the community at large has been inspiring and words cannot express the appreciation and love we all feel towards those that are assisting with this recovery effort.
The 15th and 14th District’s (Council Member Kevin Rhoten’s district) were the hardest hit on the eastern side of Davidson County. The Donelson Fellowship has become a base of operations supported by Samaritan’s Purse Ministry. They have been gathering at 7:30am every day to coordinate efforts and go into affected neighborhoods all throughout Nashville and surrounding areas. On Saturday morning, they will be joined by members of Donelson Church of Christ to support these efforts. For all those that would like to support this effort as well, I encourage you to come this Saturday morning at 7:30am with your gloves, chainsaws, and other tools you feel you might need to support our neighbors in the Donelson area with brush, debris, and especially fallen tree clean-up. Lunch will be provided thanks to Hunts Pizza.
We will have volunteers bringing wheel barrows and chain saws. The wheelbarrows will need to be put together, so there will be plenty of needs and opportunities for everyone to serve and help.
Important Resources:
* AirBnB is offering free housing through March 24th.
* Tennessee Housing Development Agency or by phone at 1-877-428-8844: Individuals or households that have been displaced by storm damage can use this resource to locate short-term or permanent rental housing options. The listings have been provided by property managers and landlords and includes information about specific needs, such as income restrictions, pets and accessibility. The site is also available in Spanish.
* Storage: U-Haul: Various locations; 615-356-2550 to be routed to closest location; Offering 30 days of free storage to tornado victims.
* Navarre Corp: Offering transport services for wheelchair-bound individuals. tyler.pinson@navarrecorp.com or (229) 328-9182
* Conexion Americas: 2195 Nolensville Pike, Nashville, TN 37211; 615-320-5152; Provides support and advocacy for New Americans navigating the disaster relief.
* Crisis Center 211 or call 211 for community needs and service support
* Impacted residents can complete a voluntary damage assessment through a reporting site that will help Metro Nashville determine the extent of damage across the county.
* Prior to accepting an offer to purchase your home, seek council from a trusted adviser. Do no pay contractors in cash. Make payments in installments based on an agreed upon contract and verified scope of work. Keep receipts and take pictures of everything. If federal aid becomes available, this documentation will be crucial to your aid application. If you have insurance, start with a call to your insurance company. The Department of Commerce & Insurance has mobile sites up to allow people to register claims.
Ways to serve:
* Ongoing volunteer needs: If you’d like to register to volunteer, visit Hands on Nashville and click the blue button on the home page. You can get the latest updates on volunteer needs via their blog, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
* Donate money: The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee is managing an emergency response fund.
* Donate items: The Community Resource Center, which is in particular looking for personal hygiene items, bleach, trash bags, gloves, box cutters, baby and toddler clothes, formula, underwear, bras, batteries, and baby food. These items can also be brought to The Donelson Fellowship.
* Donate food: Organize a drive through Second Harvest Food Bank .
Curbside Debris Pickup:
Metro Public Works has issued the following preliminary guidelines for residents who need to place debris at the curbside for collection:
All items and materials MUST be separated into three different piles and placed at the curb or street side for collection. If the debris is not separated, it will not be collected. The three different classifications for collection are:
1. White goods and metals (appliances, etc.)
2. Construction and demolition debris (lumber, windows, etc.)
3. Vegetation (brush, limbs and all other yard waste)
Items should NOT be placed in public alleys. Alleys need to remain clear for emergency crews and trash collection services. Household trash should be set out with regular weekly curbside garbage pick-up.
While Public Works is still finalizing a comprehensive plan and schedule for debris collection, residents can go ahead and place items out for collection. All debris and tornado-damaged items should be placed at the curb/street side for collection. Davidson County residents SHOULD NOT bring these items to Metro Convenience Centers for disposal. For additional information, residents can use hubNashville by calling 311, downloading the hubNashville app, or visiting hub.nashville.gov.
There will be continued needs in the weeks and months ahead as recovery and rebuilding continue. Again, my heartfelt thanks to the extraordinary volunteer spirit I am seeing in our neighborhoods. We will recover and be stronger as a community.
Don’t hesitate to call me if I can be of assistance.
615-886-9906
Author
Donelson Tornado, Storm Recovery Donelson
