Recovery efforts in Ottawa continued Tuesday morning, including the opening of a Red Cross resource center, as the area rebuilds after a devastating tornado tore through LaSalle County last month.
The Red Cross facility is staffed with 98 percent volunteers after an estimated 500 homes in the area were damaged. Volunteers from more than 20 other agencies have come together to help assist those impacted by the storm. It is located at a former Wal-Mart location on Columbus Street.
“People are just getting back to their homes and for some people their homes have been completely destroyed and condemned,” said Catherine Ravenstein of the American Red Cross of Chicago and Northern Illinois. “Now we’re in the stage where people need things like cleanup supplies.”
Donated toiletries, food and other essentials are being stocked in the resource facility.
“They came from the neighborhood, they came from outside of the area, they came from the realtors, they came from—you name it,” said Charlotte Hazel, the resource center’s manager.
An EF-3 tornado devastated the area on Feb. 28 causing severe damage—but it’s not just cleaning up the Red Cross concerned about. The organization is offering emotional support to homeowners and residents, too.
“They need somebody to talk to having experienced something so traumatic,” Ravenstein said.
Local
Donations are being received at the Starved Rock Community Foundation and the resource center will stay open as long as needed, officials said.
