Calming After The Storm

On June 13, 2022, residents of Fort Wayne were rocked as a “derecho” made its way through much of the city on a Monday evening. The 98 MPH relentlessly straight-lined winds left a swath of unexpected destruction, leaving tens of thousands of residents without power for days, many with downed trees on their homes and streets. All of this created an unexpected crisis situation.

Tricia, a local business owner, found herself and her tightknit neighborhood community reeling from the dual impact of not only having to find the funds to repair their homes after trees had fallen, but also losing their food supply due to the extended power outage in hot weather.

SCAN’s Community Partners program mobilized the morning after the storm. As news coverage played, Christy, longtime staff member and Community Partners Director, knew residents of Fort Wayne would need support with food, housing and connecting to the right resources to begin the clean-up process. A few news stations ran stories from SCAN sharing how we can help families navigate through an unexpected crisis to maintain their stability.

The calls began flooding in. Christy ran to Kroger to buy gift cards and then headed over to Tricia’s business down the street. Tricia was relieved, as she told Christy that it was a unique experience to be the one who needed help and she didn’t realize that SCAN had the ability to step in the way they did. She’s often been the person to make a donation or lend a helping hand. But in this case, Tricia needed support, and SCAN was there to offer a boost.

Tricia wasn’t the only person SCAN helped that day. Ultimately, we paid for several hotels, made connections to local resources and gave out 30 food cards, helping families keep their heads level and focus on doing the next right thing.