Tornado recovery group forming in Christian County

The group invites church, nonprofit, government and business representatives to an organizational meeting on March 29.

A community meeting is planned at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 29, to create a group that will help address the unmet needs of Christian County residents affected by recent tornadoes.

Anyone interested in helping is encouraged to attend the first meeting of the Christian County Long-Term Recovery Group in Cornell Hall at First United Methodist Church, 1305 S. Main St.

christian county tornado damage
Rusty Blauser of Trigg County tosses a piece of lumber while helping a crew make house repairs on Tuesday, Dec. 14, 2021, in Pembroke. (Photo by Jennifer P. Brown, Hoptown Chronicle)

“A long-term recovery group … is a cooperative body that is made up of representatives from faith-based, non-profit, government, business and other organizations working within a community to assist individuals and families as they recover from disaster,” Betsy Bond, executive director of the United Way of the Pennyrile, said in a press release.

The goal of the group is to connect recovery resources with community needs so that “even the most vulnerable in the community recover from disaster,” she said.

Jim Morse, the disaster response coordinator for the Kentucky Conference of the United Methodist Church, will direct the meeting. 

“This is not a meeting for those affected by the tornadoes to report their needs, this is for those who want to help satisfy the needs that exist,” Bond said. “Our goal is not to just rebuild, rather to rebuild stronger and better than before.”

Jennifer P. Brown is co-founder, publisher and editor of Hoptown Chronicle. You can reach her at editor@hoptownchronicle.org. She spent 30 years as a reporter and editor at the Kentucky New Era. She is a co-chair of the national advisory board to the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues, governing board president for the Kentucky Historical Society, and co-founder of the Kentucky Open Government Coalition.