‘You just want to put your arms around them’: Hoosiers helping Kentucky tornado victims

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Indiana Red Cross and Indiana Task Force 1 are doing everything they can to help families in Kentucky recover from the devastating storms.

Red Cross volunteer Christy Wareham says people are having to readjust to a world that feels more dangerous than it ever was.

Wareham is a red cross volunteer from Indianapolis. He’s stationed at a school in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where people impacted by the tornadoes can find help.

“You just want to put your arms around them and of course you’ve got a lot of other people to take care of so you can’t do everything, but you try to be reassuring with them,” Wareham said.

Wareham is one of 14 Red Cross volunteers deployed from Indiana. He says people can get medical services, food, counseling and much more at the school. It also provides space for victims to stay overnight.

“You immediately see the distress on the faces,” Wareham said. “People are all different. Some people, they come in and they just kind of know maybe I’ll get this immediate help, but I know I can’t get immediate help all the time.”

The leader of Indiana Task Force 1, Tom Neal, says Christmas music can be heard in restaurants in the city of Dawson Springs. Neal says he and his team of more than 40 people are thinking about their families.

“We’re doing search and rescue operations and we’re so close to the holidays,” Neal said.

After spending several days helping in search and rescue efforts in Mayfield, the group is now in Dawson Springs, where nearly 75% of homes were wiped out.

“The most important aspect of our mission is to help unify those unaccounted for … individuals back to to their families and loved ones,” Neal said.

Neal says Indiana Task Force 1 is in good spirits and they’re asking everyone to keep these communities in their prayers.