Amid the still-visible damage of the EF-1 tornado that struck Hazel Crest July 27, students and volunteers from Hazel Crest Elementary District 152 ½ gathered Friday at Jesse White Learning Academy Friday to feed and support people still struggling in the aftermath.
“We put the call out on Facebook for people, and they’ve shown up en masse,” said school board President Dean Barnett. “Every chance we get, we try to work, give back to the community, and there’s not a better opportunity, because this area was directly impacted.”
The tornado also struck Homewood, Country Club Hills, Harvey and Glenwood, but some of the most severe damage was in Hazel Crest, where multiple roofs were torn off by the tornado winds.
The unusual looping track of the tornado meant Hazel Crest was struck not once but twice, with the tornado crossing its own path just two blocks from Jesse White Learning Academy, according to a map from the National Weather Service.
“Just utter devastation,” Barnett said. “It’s horrible.”
Roads around the school were still lined with browning fallen trees and branches Friday, and tarps were stretched over holes in roofs. The storm damage left some people displaced, and many more without power for days.
“A lot of people were displaced from Hazel Crest over into Sauk Village,” said Superintendent Cynthia Levy. “So they’ve been trying to find housing.”
Things improved significantly once electricity was largely restored last Friday, Levy said, but the damage is still severe.
“This whole area was just decimated,” said Levy. “All of our students who live in this area walk to school, so it’s a hazard.”
School officials saw people needed help and mobilized a network of volunteers already used to supporting families in need, Levy said.
“We’re about 99% free and reduced lunch, so most of our students are economically disadvantaged,” Levy said. “These people you see here are the same people that will come out right around Thanksgiving when we give out the turkeys for our families. So we’re used to kind of pulling together.”
They prepared more than 500 meals to donate, she said: hamburgers, hot dogs and for families, roast chickens. In addition to food, volunteers distributed toiletries, paper towels and other necessities.
“A lot of people lost a lot of food because the power was out,” Levy said.
By the time meals started to be handed out at 5 p.m., dozens of people had queued up. At the same time, volunteers loaded SUVs with more packed meals to deliver door-to-door.
“We have a list of people we’re going to drop food off to,” Levy said. “Elderly in the community who can’t get out.”
Barnett said he hoped the event would bring some positivity to a community that had suffered badly from the storm.
“People have been without power, people have had food challenges, people have had some long days and nights,” Barnett said. “It’s important when we go to them, that we go to them with positive energy.”
Misha Roberts said she found out about the event from the school district, because her son is a student at Jesse White.
Roberts, who lives on California Avenue just across the freeway, said she’d suffered some damage to her house and lost all of the food in her fridge when the power was out for days.
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“The roof, the garage,” Roberts said. “A falling tree took out the swing.”
She said she had no idea how long the damage would take to repair; it could be anywhere from weeks to months.
The volunteers passing out food included dozens of students from the school district.
“I’m just happy that I’m able to help,” said 13-year-old Ava Ward, a rising eighth grader at Jesse White. “It makes me feel really good.”
The event was the brainchild of Kimberly Chalmers, vice president of the school board, who said she was grateful and “completely overwhelmed” by how many people had come out to help.
Chalmers was also affected by the storm, she said. Like many residents of Hazel Crest, she was without power for about a week.
“My roof was a little damaged, and we lost everything in the refrigerator, but it’s definitely not about me,” Chalmers said.
Chalmers said that recovery would be hard, but she was hopeful.
“The future has to be bright,” Chalmers said. “We’re going to get there, with all of us working together.”