The city of Selma turns to community service in times of tragedy.
“Areas like this with this massive destruction, it really brings back some terrible, terrible memories,” Lieutenant Adam Watley said. “But we’re glad to help.”The firefighters checked inside each mangled home for any victims first responders may have missed on the night of the storm. They used fluorescent orange spray paint to leave Federal Emergency Management Agencyindicating who searched the house, the date of the search, any hazards found and the number of casualties discovered inside.
“I thank god we weren’t in the house when it happened,” said Smith, 53, standing in her front yard surrounded by family who came to help salvage belongings. “Had I seen it coming, I probably would have had a heart attack.”A deluge of good will poured in from friends, family and schoolmates Smith hadn’t heard from in years. “Even people from out of town have been sending donations, sending love and prayers,” she said.
“I just hang around while people are being assisted medically to figure out if they need emotional support,”LaToyia McNeil Tolbert, founder of Divine for Youth, a nonprofit that helps local youth process emotions through dance and miming, is dealing with the trauma through movement.
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