Town sets up an emergency response fund to assist residents as they recover and rebuild

Out for a walk with his dog Friday morning, Billy Navarro called the devastation from the tornado that touched down in his Merrillville neighborhood “disheartening.”

Some of his neighbors’ homes were gone. “Total losses, unlivable. They had just bought and rehabbed them a couple years ago; now they’re homeless. Who knows where they’re at — staying in hotels or with relatives,” Navarro said.

That same morning, the parking lot of the strip mall at 61st Avenue and Cleveland was the staging area for a cleanup effort to give hope and help to the residents impacted by the storm.

Cleanup was organized by the United Way, Legacy Foundation, Red Cross, Salvation Army, and the Town of Merrillville, asking for volunteers to help homeowners and families remove fallen trees, clear debris, and address storm-related property damage.

The National Weather Service reported the storm system that struck Merrillville on June 11 brought a tornado with wind speeds between 130-160mph.

The storm system came out of the southwest touching down first in the Bon Aire subdivision, Navarro’s neighborhood, which also suffered the most property damage. That area is west of Taft/Cleveland Street between 57th Avenue and 61st Place.

The tornado continued on a northeast path across Merrillville, causing heavy damage to homes in the Barclay Village subdivision, north of 61st Avenue and west of Harrison Street.

As it left Merrillville, the storm system cut into the roof of a classroom building at the Andrean High School campus at 59th and Broadway.

Volunteer check-in time was 8am. Volunteers who had pre-registered were in neighborhoods by 8:30am after taking assignments from Kenneth Henline, the Emergency Response Technician at the Office of Lake County Homeland Security/Emergency Management.

Volunteers from faith-based and civic groups provided general labor. They worked as teams, knocking on doors asking residents did they need help to move debris from their property to the curbside.

Checking in were Trinity Memorial Lutheran Church, Pink Heals, Habitat for Humanity, Eight Days of Hope, Team Rubicon, and students from Andrean High School.

Some brought in their own bobcats, helping get debris to the road to make it manageable for the town to pickup.

Crews from Indiana American Water walked the Bon Aire neighborhood. They offered to pump water out of basements and move debris to the curb.

Lake County Homeland Security has been at the Cleveland Street staging area since the tornado hit.

“We’ve been working out here, running volunteers for two weeks, and today’s our last day,” Henline said. “We’re going to be transitioning away from the volunteer coordination, moving towards documentation so we can get FEMA federal aid.”

Sandra Guerrero has lived in Barclay Village since 1987. “The support and help we had after the storm and today has restored my faith in love thy neighbor,” she said.

Shaun Patterson of United Way Northwest Indiana said over 100 volunteers pre-registered for the cleanup and more came Friday. This is the 2nd disaster recovery effort for United Way in 3 months. In March, a tornado struck Lake Village in Newton County.

The Town of Merrillville has partnered with the Legacy Foundation to establish the Merrillville Emergency Response Fund, providing a secure way for individuals, businesses and organizations to contribute to local recovery efforts.

Donations can be made here Merrillville Emergency Response Fund. All funds collected will be used to assist residents as they recover and rebuild following the storm.

Kelly Anoe of the Legacy Foundation said, “All donations will help, $5 and $10.”

After touring the storm damaged area on June 18th, Congressman Frank Mrvan Jr. said, “As a member of Congress, I did a tour today with the police chief. It’s all about accelerating the declaration, so that FEMA can come in and help. There were over 200 homes destroyed. There were 66 that are unlivable, and there are other, approximately 40 to 50 homes that are also damaged and out of control.”