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Multiple agencies offer resources for tornado victims in Sikeston
SIKESTON — Two weeks after an EF3 tornado struck Sikeston, state and local agencies were together in one place Sunday, June 9 and Monday, June 10 in Sikeston to provide assistance as the community continues to recover.
John Scott, director of the Scott County Emergency Management Agency, discussed the Multi-Agency Resource Center, or MARC, that was open for two days at the YMCA of Southeast Missouri in Sikeston.
According to Scott, the resources they provide include gift cards, emergency financial assistance, legal services, insurance information, food and food stamp replacement services, health and wellness services and more.
“MARC — they come in from all over the state to support the local community and county,” Scott said on Monday. “We have many great representations here today, we have here: the Salvation Army, the American Red Cross, the Missouri Baptist Disaster Relief, the Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance and many more governmental and non-governmental resources.”
According to Scott, the majority of the citizens were interested in learning more about benefits.
“We have a food truck at the First United Methodist Church on North Main Street,” Scott said. “What happens is that when people come here, we ask what their needs are and many have said they need food, so we give them a food voucher and they go to the church to pick up their food.”
According to Scott, many people need tree limb assistance as well.
Natasha Newton, a Sikeston resident, was at the YMCA on Monday and discussed the damage to her house.
“On the top floor of my house, all my windows were busted but one, and I had a tree fall on the back of my house and on the side of my house,” Newton said. “My roof is leaking and it’s been raining a lot.”
Newton said she does have electricity, and she mainly came to the YMCA looking for assistance with her roof and windows.
According to Micheal Sullivan, executive director of the American Red Cross for Southeast Missouri and North Eastern Arkansas, they have helped over 200 people since Sunday.
Sullivan said the American Red Cross has been in Sikeston since the disaster occurred, providing shelter, food and other supplies based on community needs.
“MARC is great because it’s just a one-stop shop where all these agencies get together and provide services, information and resources to everyone impacted by the storms,” Sullivan said. “It makes it easier and more convenient. Instead of people just having to go everywhere, they can come to one spot.”
According to Sullivan, MARC was at Dexter, Missouri, at the Dexter Parks and Recreation Gym on Tuesday, June 11 and will be in Doniphan, Missouri, on Wednesday, June 12, at Cottonwood Community Center from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.