Nottingham Forest Mobile Home Park residents eager for fresh start after May 20 tornado
GAYLORD — Henry McDowell was among those who lost their homes in the Nottingham Forest Mobile Home Park following the May 20 tornado in Gaylord.
McDowell's trailer suffered damage to the roof, siding and floors. He was forced to live in a motel for over three months while volunteers with the Otsego-Antrim Habitat for Humanity (OAHFH) chapter and others came in and repaired his home along with others in the park.
On Sept. 10, McDowell was grilling hamburgers for a block party hosted by the Habitat chapter at Nottingham Forest that served as a celebration and restart for the park, residents and the community.
The party was a sign of "appreciation for the community banding together to help victims of the tornado recover," said McDowell. "If it wasn't for Habitat I wouldn't have my house right now. This affirms my belief in God and humanity. I am grateful for life and my home. For some this was a tragedy, but in my eyes it was a tragedy turned into a blessing."
If there was a ground zero following the devastating tornado, the Nottingham Forest Mobile Home Park may be it. The EF-3 tornado, which ripped through with winds at 150 mph, left shredded houses and shattered glass where safe havens, resting places and family bases once stood in the mobile home park. Both of the people who died from the storm were found in the park.
"We call it a block party but really it is a healing party," said Aini Abukar, executive director of OAHFH. "We have had a lot of situations where we weren't just doing repairs but also helping people to cope and actually understand what happened. This party is for everyone to come together and say it's OK for us to move on."
In the past 14 weeks, the Otsego-Antrim Habitat for Humanity has assessed over 40 homes impacted by the tornado, repaired three stick-built homes in Gaylord, and worked on 19 trailers in Nottingham Forest.
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The tornado damaged a lot of homes in the park but there were also homes that OAHFH and others could repair, such as the one Henry McDowell lives in today.
"We repaired 19 trailers and were able to save the homes and give people a chance to start fresh," said Abukar. “Otsego County came together allowing us to repair and restore savable homes. The silver lining to the tornado is the reminder that the people of this community are resilient. We were able to donate a damaged manufactured home to another family from Nottingham. They have moved six times since the tornado and just wanted a place to call home.”
Abukar and her organization were able to help the residents of Nottingham due in part to the generosity of the Otsego Community Foundation (OCF) Tornado Response Fund, Community Financial Credit Union, and the Lions Chapter 11-E2, raising over $277,000 for tornado repair, restoration and rebuilding.
“Habitat for Humanity is one of our key partners in strengthening the community. As a grantee, they efficiently and effectively end the cycle of poverty one family at a time. In addition, they engage volunteers to share their time and talents building not only homes but meaningful relationships,” said Dana Bensinger, OCF executive director.
Most of the debris from the storm has been cleared from the park. The rebuilding included the installation of a swing set and other amenities so children and their parents could have a fun and safe place.
The tornado occurred as the economy was still navigating pandemic challenges along with supply-chain pressures that raised prices for lumber and other building materials.
“Access to the individuals and supplies with specialized trades such as plumbing and HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), metal roofing, aluminum siding and flooring has been challenging,” said Abukar. “We are still struggling, but our builder Skip (Ken Monroe) has managed to find people in other states and cities to make bids on the jobs and find supplies.”
Bensinger said that as of Sept. 12, the Otsego Community Foundation Tornado Response Fund has raised $1.4 million.
"The donations have come from the country, the state and of course Northern Michigan," she said.
Bensinger said the fund has allocated about $902,000 so far. Most of the money in the beginning went to providing immediate relief and shelter.
"The short-term recovery phase involved awarding local nonprofits funds to continue their programs and services," added Bensinger
Bensinger said the next phase of the recovery will include disaster case managers presenting cases to an unmet needs committee and representatives from the local United Way, OCF and the E-Free Church of Gaylord.
"We will start responding to the individual cases to help families get back on their feet," said Bensinger.
"We are all learning because we haven't we haven't gone through this before. The community has been generous with its dollars and volunteering," she continued
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord mobile home park residents seek fresh start after tornado
