Rolling Fork
We produced over 100 LIVE Facebook videos about our work while deployed in Rolling Fork, Mississippi.
Watch one of them below or watch them all here.
Our Response
On March 24, 2023, a powerful EF4 tornado devastated the town of Rolling Fork, MS, killing 15 people and injuring scores of others. The tornado moved dozens of miles striking several Mississippi Delta towns killing a total of 25.
Rob left his home in Baton Rouge within minutes of the disaster and arrived in Rolling Fork at 5am and was in town as the sun rose on the devastation. After assessing the damage Rob made a call for his team to mount an all hands on deck response. Within hours, the team had deployed all wheeled assets and began organizing relief efforts. Tool trailer, food trailer, both RV’s, tent trailers, volunteer trailer, cook trailer, generator trailer were all deployed for the 5 hour drive to Rolling Fork.
The very first day the team began debris removal and established our SAFE Camp location. We immediately made contact with officials and our teams began working with the Sharkey County EOC to coordinate a mission for setup and operation of SAFE Camp and Community Caretaking where we stayed for 7 weeks.
The community lost all water and electricity so our mission included help for citizens and incoming groups of volunteers by establishing a free water supply and providing consistent and quality hot meals. SAFE Camp was badly needed, so we setup three of our tents in the Northeast corner of town at the corner of Maple Street and HWY 61. This highly visible location enabled us to utilize a nearby warehouse, called the bus barn, for collection, protecting and distributing of donated supplies.
We were initially surprised that a car line for supplies never developed, but we quickly realized that an enormous number of vehicles in community were destroyed due to the tornado leaving citizens with no way to gather needed supplies. So we recruited volunteers to bring their smaller side by sides to pick up supplies which were being dropped off and to start doing hot shot deliveries throughout the town. This was a huge success and became a critical lifeline of water, food and supplies for the entire community.
Through the summer months of 2023 we have remained engaged in the community and are currently consulting with local community leaders to provide access to resources like supplies, AirBnb housing, water and the media. Our SAFE Camp director, Sher Attoway, has also created a website for organizing the ongoing relief efforts.
Media and Response Partners
We worked with Good Morning America on multiple broadcasts in order to keep the disaster and ongoing community crisis in the public media, we were a featured non-profit throughout the broadcasts. We were invited to participate in the Presidents press conference. We were accepted into Mississippi VOAD and are now a member of the Mississippi Long Term Recovery Committee as well. SAFE Camp was designated as the official VRC, Volunteer Reception Center, by Volunteer Mississippi and our Community Caretaking program was designated to receive and train all volunteers who registered with Volunteer Mississippi. Through our Community Caretaking program we put over 2000 volunteers to work. We worked with two different AmeriCorps teams. With the headquarters only 45 minutes away, managing a crew of a dozen AmeriCorps volunteers was fairly easy. The teams made the drive every weekday and we put them to work. On the few days we didn’t have spontaneous volunteers, we had the AmeriCorps teams working.
Watch 117 videos featuring our 7 week response in Rolling Fork.
How You Can Help
Our mission is to persistently stand by the communities of Rolling Fork impacted by the devastating tornado, fostering a sense of stability in people’s lives. However, to maintain this commitment, substantial funding is required. Our dedicated effort in the aftermath of the disaster is creating immense value, and we’re far from done. We are determined to not withdraw until we’ve fully aided this community in regaining its footing.
