Tornado Response 5.22.11

What Happened?

On May 22, 2011 a strong EF 1 tornado cut diagonally across North Minneapolis for almost five miles.  Immediately after the storm, our Beloved Community sprang into action.  By Monday morning over 500 volunteers responded to the call from Sanctuary CDC, our partners at Urban Homeworks, other community organizations and city leaders.

Tell Me More…

Before the week was over over 3,000 volunteers had cleared the streets of trees, helped residents mend their homes or find temporary shelter, and door knocked on every home in the effected area to evaluate personal needs.

The immediate response grew into the Northside Community Response Team (NCRT).  This collaboration is made up of over 30 organizations, listed here on the City of Minneapolis web site.

The initial group led by Richard Coleman, Sanctuary CDC; Scott Gray, Urban League; Louis King, Summit Academy; Chad Schwitters, Urban Homeworks; and Sondra Samuels, Northside Achievement Zone, has demonstrated a remarkable ability to pull the community together and keep the group moving forward.  The focus of this group is for all impacted families to be helped in their physical and emotional recovery.

This effort will help to revitalize our neighborhoods; not by outsiders telling us what to do, but as the work is led by the community in ways that will strengthen and empower the community. Read more about this effort here.

How can I get involved?

While the immediate clean-up work is done, there are great financial concerns and needs for volunteers to help fill.  Many homes are under, or un-insured, some landlords are seeming to be abandoning their property, many families were displaced, and the the emotional and mental health effects will be profound.  The team is gearing up to assist in all these ways and more and we realize the recovery is not a sprint but a marathon.  In the process volunteer professional skills will be utilized as well as unskilled labor.

Want to learn more?

Sanctuary Community Development Corp.

The Sanctuary Community Development Corporation (The Sanctuary CDC) was founded by members of Sanctuary Covenant Church, a multi-ethnic congregation in North Minneapolis with a vision for community transformation that extends far beyond the walls of the church. The Sanctuary CDC is a 501(c)3 nonprofit separate from the church with its own staff, board, and bookkeeping system. The Sanctuary CDC operates programming that is for all community members, regardless of their religious beliefs or affiliation.

The Sanctuary Community Development Corporation exists to collaborate with others in North Minneapolis to address concerns related to health, economic and workforce development and youth development. We work to empower residents, both individually and collectively, striving to help people who lack economic and social resources and, at the same time, to correct structural injustices that affect the individuals and community of North Minneapolis