JOPLIN, Mo. —
In Chelby Reynolds’ newly repaired home, there’s a ladder and a framed picture, both covered in signatures.
The names are from across the country and belong to the volunteers who helped repair her storm-damaged house.
“They were out there in the snow and the rain,” Reynolds said. “People say there aren’t people like that out there. There are.”
Rebuild Joplin, Catholic Charities and volunteers from AmeriCorps officially welcomed Reynolds, her daughter, Mary, and their four dogs home on Wednesday afternoon.
Reynolds, who purchased the home, her first, a year before the May 22 tornado, had been remodeling since she moved in.
JUST IN TIME FOR STORM
She had scraped wallpaper, mudded and repainted, and said she had finally finished her home improvement projects when the tornado hit.
Though her home, on 14th Street near Range Line Road, was on the edge of the disaster zone, the wind had filled the house with water, mud and debris. There were holes in the roof, damage to trees and broken windows. Reynolds said the siding looked as if someone had fired a gun at the house.
“It was a big mess,” she said. “I remember trying to mop (water) up with rags.”
Reynolds and her daughter stayed with Reynolds’ father in the storm’s aftermath while water poured in through holes, damaging the home and furnishings further. The ceiling began to grow mold.
“I saved and I saved” and worked hard to buy the house in the first place, she said, adding that without repairs, the house wouldn’t be worth what she owed on it.
She was underinsured and had limited financial resources.
When she was told, for insurance purposes, to wait for a damaged tree to give way and fall on the house, she called Catholic Charities for help.
While she found someone else to help her with the tree, she began working with Norma Hernandez, a case manager with Catholic Charities, to begin repairs on the home.
“When (Hernandez) called and said they were going to start, I just started bawling,” Reynolds said.
NEEDS and RESOURCES
Kate Massey, director of development for Rebuild Joplin, said her organization plans to help repair or rebuild 100 homes in 2012 for people like Reynolds who have limited resources and need assistance.
Rebuild Joplin was established to aid in the long-term rebuilding of Joplin after the tornado. The organization is working with the Joplin Long Term Recovery Committee and other area nonprofit groups to “connect those in need with resources.”
The groups review cases, make a work plan, and arrange for the funds and the skilled or unskilled labor required to handle construction projects for storm victims.
“We fill the gap,” Massey said. “And with people like Chelby, it’s really easy to fill the gap.”
Reynolds’ home was largely worked on by volunteers, some from AmeriCorps, who did everything from putting up new siding to rehanging wind chimes on the porch.
Now, the house is fully repaired, for which Reynolds said she is incredibly grateful. She said she wouldn’t have been able to make the repairs alone.
“We’d have been breathing in mold,” she said. “We’d have been sick.”
Massey said many people who are in need of assistance think that after nine months, they “missed some kind of deadline” and are no longer eligible for help.
“If anyone has an unmet need, we’ll try and fill it,” she said.
Hernandez said the goal is for everyone the groups help to be at least back to the state they were in before the storm.
Reynolds said her home is better than before: “It’s done with so much love.”
On the Net
TO DONATE OR VOLUNTEER with Rebuild Joplin, or to inquire about receiving assistance, people may visit rebuildjoplin.org.
May 2011 Joplin tornado
Related Photos
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Overcome with emotion, Chelby Reynolds hugs 8-year-old daughter Mary on Wednesday afternoon at a ceremony to formally welcome them home after their tornado-damaged house was repaired. Rebuild Joplin, Catholic Charities and AmeriCorps were involved in the work. GLOBE | ROGER NOMER
Discussion
Mother, daughter back in repaired home
Rebuild Joplin, Catholic Charities, AmeriCorps volunteers cited
- May 2011 Joplin tornado
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