PORTAGE, Mich. — City leaders in Portage are focused on rebuilding the community after a tornado tore through it Tuesday evening.
"Never lose hope, you know. There's always a chance out there that things can get better, they will get better, but it's just going to take time," said John Kolinski, a resident at Pavilion Estates in Portage.
"There's houses, it's demolished. It's off the ground. It's terrible," said Steven Bouma, a resident at Oak Brook Estates.
Some of the hardest-hit areas of Portage include the Pavilion Estates Mobile Home Community and Oak Brook Estates.
The tornado left some homes in the middle of the street and others just plain flattened. It will be a long-term effort to get neighbors and businesses back on their feet.
"Really what we're focusing on right now is immediate needs, that means shelter and food," said Mary Lynn Foster, the Regional CEO of the American Red Cross Michigan Region.
The Red Cross has set up a shelter for those impacted by the tornadoes at First Assembly of God Church in Portage. Around 20 people are calling it home for now.
"I just want to reassure the community that the Red Cross is here, we're strong, we've established a disaster response operation," said Foster.
"After the Storm Michigan" is the disaster response non-profit established by the Michigan General Conference of the United Methodist Church.
The organization helps displaced people in times of tragedy, and will eventually help in restoration efforts once the affected areas become safe.
"Work with other local organizations to access the resources they need to get back to their new normal, often that means repairing their home, in case of a tornado it might be replacing roofs or or some other other work," said Reverend Paul Perez.
And while wanting to go disaster areas to volunteer might be an immediate reaction, Perez said that's not always the best thing to do.
"A community needs to get set up, be able to receive volunteers, the situation needs to be saved for volunteers to enter into. And so until the community sort of says they're ready for volunteers, we really discourage people from rushing to volunteer," said Perez.
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