Volunteers tackle downed trees, tarp roofs in Lauderdale County

Published 4:01 pm Friday, April 20, 2018

The number of affiliated volunteers with trained organizations responding to tornado damage in Lauderdale County will double from 50 to nearly100 over the weekend and hover between those numbers over the next week.

Hubert Yates, the board president of Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, estimated those numbers. He oversees organizations prepared and trained to respond to disasters, such as the Americorps NCCC, Eight Days of Hope, Mississippi Baptist Disaster Relief, Latter Day Saint Charities, Mennonite Disaster Service and United Methodist Committee on Relief. 

Those agencies, over the weekend and in the weeks ahead, will assist with chainsaws, putting tarps on damaged roofs and minor home repairs.

Connecting volunteers

The city asks that potential volunteers and residents in need of help call the city at (601) 485-1944 for assistance.

“The trained volunteers are experienced, prepared and they know how to navigate our systems,” Yates said. “They’re used to working with trees, putting tarps up and more.”

Yates said the volunteer groups are mostly self-sustaining, arranging their own housing and food beforehand. 

“The biggest thing is to have patience,” Yates said. “We’re in a time of stress.”

Yates recalled four years ago, when an EF-4 tornado hit Louisville, and the flood of volunteers who helped the community.

“It it wasn’t for the volunteers, the recovery wouldn’t have happened,” Yates said. “Grants will help with the process but it’s the community that comes back.”

Out in the field, a group of seven Americorps NCCC volunteers used a chainsaw to whittle down a tree.

“Anything on the ground that’s damaging a fence or property we can do,” Graeme Lorimer, 22, the field team leader of the Vicksburg-based group. “We can do roof repairs but we don’t have a crane so it has to be on the ground.”

For spontaneous or unaffiliated volunteers, Yates encouraged them to reach out to the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service to volunteer.

“You may not be able to put up shingles on a roof but you can help tote those shingles up a ladder,” Yates said. 

Both organizations are operating out of the Velma Young Center near the Magnolia Middle School, one of the hardest hit areas in the county. 

Caitlin Brooking, the deputy director of the commission, echoed Yates’ recommendation.

“We are putting volunteers in the field that know how to tarp a roof but we’re also accepting volunteers that can help sort donated goods,” Brooking said. “We accept all skill levels. Anybody wanting to help out just come here.”