Watch stories of people who have lived through disasters—and those who are already fostering connections in Johnson County. No matter your situation, chances are, there’s someone like you with wisdom to share.
Johnson County,
Kansas
It doesn't matter if it's good times or bad times, we all need to eat. It's a natural fit for chefs to stand up to help (in an emergency). Friends—both digitally and in person. It doesn't matter if it's good times or bad times, we all need to eat. It's a natural fit for chefs to stand up to help (in an emergency). Friends—both digitally and in
A personal look at emergencies and connection.
Watch stories of people who have lived through disasters—and those who are already fostering connections in Johnson County. No matter your situation, chances are, there’s someone like you with wisdom to share.
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Barbara
Wichita, Kansas
Barbara knew the tornado was coming. Her son who lived in Little Rock called to make sure of that. The wail of the sirens reinforced the idea that it was time to take action. She had a plan; take a bag of supplies and important documents to her sheltering location under the stairs in her basement. It was a great plan, complicated only by the fact that she was in a full leg cast and there was no way down the stairs short of tumbling. She rode out the 1991 Andover tornado in her bathtub as the tornado crossed through her back yard leaving her house damaged, but intact. What she didn't expect was the way that her neighborhood came together following the tornado. By the morning, two of her sons had the generator running behind her house with the coffee pot plugged in brewing away. A simple cup of hot coffee became a tool for the family to check on her other neighbors. By mid afternoon, a longtime resident of the neighborhood was going house to house on a riding lawn mower to see if anyone needed "help". A neighborhood family who owned an unaffected Chinese buffet prepared extra food at the restaurant and catered to anyone in the neighborhood who was hungry. Barbara's husband, who was out of town for work when the tornado struck, put their generator in the back of his truck and drove it house to house to stretch the life out of the food in everyone's refrigerator. Barbara's neighborhood was already connected before the tornado. Through regular neighborhood meetings, events, and informal get-togethers they became a connected community that was able to assist each other when they needed it the most.
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