Many residents survived but their homes did not when a tornado ripped through Northwest Georgia on the evening of April 27, 2011.
Nearly nine months later, the rebuilding process is ongoing and Catoosa Organization Acting In Disaster is still offering its support to the under- and uninsured as they rebuild their lives and homes.
An Amish volunteer works on rebuilding the roof of a home in Ringgold.During its first meeting of 2012, the COAD board of directors was told that donations to the organization totaled $516,655 and the group had spent $336,945. Treasurer Jerry Little told the group there is a cash balance of $209,825 rather than the $179,710 that would result from subtracting the total expenditures from the total of all donations.
The $30,115 difference is due to suppliers that have either refused to cash checks for materials and services or from other suppliers who are crediting COAD with manufacturer rebates.
In both cases, Little said the money cannot be counted as a donation even though it is added to COAD’s balance sheet.
And every dollar counts, as at least nine new requests for assistance have been received since the first of the year.
In seven incidents, homeowners have found the amount offered by either the Federal Emergency Management Agency or their own insurance company was insufficient to complete rebuilding. Others are still in the rebuilding process but have expended everything allotted their temporary housing.
There have also been two cases where people were living in substandard housing – more hut than house – and had never applied for any sort of FEMA aid. For these Ringgold residents, COAD is the only available resource to help rebuild.
Since September, rebuilding efforts have been boosted by Disaster Response Service teams from Christian Aid Ministries. That relief organization, comprised of Mennonite, Amish and other conservative Anabaptist volunteers, has offered skilled craftsman who charge nothing for their service.
While these groups of “plain people” have become a regular sight in Ringgold, there was something even more familiar about last week’s team.
That is because the first group of young men who traveled from their own homes in Kentucky, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Tennessee had returned for a second round of house raising.
“They enjoyed the area and asked if they could come back,” a COAD caseworker said. “Some even brought their fathers with them.”
These workers shun personal recognition because, as one said in the fall, “We do this as a service to the Lord, not to make a name for ourselves.”
And while the need exists and there is still money in the bank, COAD officials say these guests will continue to come and lend their helping hands “as long as there is enough work for them.”
At present, that means their beards, hats and suspenders will be a common sight for the next several months – possibly until memorial services marking the first anniversary of when a tornado came to town.