On Thursday, February 15, 2018, an EF-1 Tornado touched down in Uniontown, PA. One of our churches in the area, St. Peter's Parish Church has sprung into action. Here is a report recently sent us by the church's Rector, The. Rev. John Cruikshank:
The tornado damage is about ¼ mile long and through the poorest of the poor neighborhoods. Most of the people there rent homes built in the 1920’s and most are owned by absentee landlords. Most of the damage is limited to trees being up-rooted and falling on things, and roofs being ripped off. Several businesses were damaged, one completely leveled, but otherwise, most buildings are repairable. Some of the homes might be deemed uninhabitable. The Senior Citizen high-rise owned by the local Housing Authority suffered damage to the roof, however, was deemed safe enough for occupation.
- The biggest need is for cleaning supplies and assistance with the clean-up. As I said, since most of the homes are rental, it will be up to the land-lord to make the repairs.
- The local relief agencies have teamed up and each is concentrating on certain areas, i.e. the Salvation Army is serving meals at lunch and dinner out of their canteen truck, the East End Community Center is collecting cleaning supplies, and another is collecting clothing and other supplies.
Of course, monies are always needed and allow the agencies to ‘plug the gaps’ of where ‘official assistance’ falls short. The best way to contribute would be directly to St. Peter’s Parish, memo Rector’s Discretionary. All monies received will go to both the Salvation Army and the East End Community Center.
Volunteers to assist with cleaning up homes and businesses would be welcome. If a group wishes to come and assist with that, I would be able to help coordinate that for them.