Two weeks after a tornado displaced nearly 60 tenants of an apartment building in Mundelein, the families are slowly picking up the pieces as they search for new places to call home.
The EF-1 tornado ripped the roof off the 21-unit building at 32 Washington Blvd. Feb. 27, leaving the entire complex uninhabitable as walls shifted when the roof came back down, Mundelein Fire Department Deputy Chief Jeremy Lockwood said.
Since then, the residents have faced similar challenges, such as securing a place to live while still having to go to work and sending their children to school. But also, they’re dealing with unique problems based on their individual circumstances.
Armando Reyna wasn’t at his apartment that night because he was in the hospital in treatment for cancer, according to his brother Alfredo of Texas. Last week, three generations of the Reyna family helped pack everything in the apartment to go into storage.
For Maria Arana, a grandmother in the process of adopting her four granddaughters, ranging in age from 5 to 17, the undertaking just became that much harder, she said.
Although she’s grateful no one was hurt, she feels despair and is concerned for the girls’ mental health during this uncertain time made worse by the tornado.
“The younger two are not as affected, as far as I can see,” she said. “Maybe they’re just not showing it yet. But the older two are acting out. They’re angry they lost their beds, and their clothes, and the things they love.”
Arana said pipes bursting caused water damage, and they now have to replace furniture as well as their everyday items.
Elsies Garcia, a mother of two young children, said she is dealing with a lot of guilt. The night of the tornado she was at work and arrived home around midnight. The fire department had been called shortly before 9 p.m.
She met her husband, children and dog outside, where tenants had been told to gather while the building’s damage was assessed.
“My daughter was crying, asking why her mommy wasn’t with her when the scary thing happened to her,” Garcia said.
The 7-year-old was later taken to the hospital with a severe asthma attack.
“She had never had an attack as bad as that one,” Garcia said, adding that the following day she had another and they returned to the hospital.
The devastation has left her kids shaken, she said.
Students in four of Hawthorn District 73’s nine schools were affected, school officials said. Others attend Mundelein High School District 120.
Hours after the tornado struck, D73 family liaison Gabby Cervantes was at the scene making sure the families knew aid would be provided and that they weren’t alone.
“We got ahead of what was coming our way, as far as what our families might need,” Cervantes said.
School counselors have been working with the students and their families. The whole community has been lending a hand, Cervantes said.
Restaurants donated food, and people continue to donate things and money for gift cards to retail stores where residents can purchase what they now have to replace.
On Tuesday, Cervantes joined Doralyd Hernandez and her 5-year-old son Max Dominguez at a Target store in Vernon Hills.
At first, Hernandez was apprehensive and unsure of what she could buy, but was reassured by Cervantes that the gift cards would cover what she needed.
Cervantes took Max on a tour of the store and allowed Hernandez to shop freely.
She picked out kitchenware for her family of five in the color blue, while Max briskly walked up and down the aisles. The young boy seemingly wanted to touch everything, and pretended to shoot spider webs from his tiny wrist.
“Bad things happen, but look at how grateful we have to be that good things happen too,” Hernandez said of the community’s support.
The Red Cross closed the shelter that had been opened at a Mundelein church as the emergency response was completed.
While most families have found permanent homes, others are still in temporary accommodations such as hotel rooms or the homes of relatives, officials said.
Providing assistance for housing, medical needs, food, clothing and furniture are organizations such as Mano a Mano Family Resource Center, Society of St. Vincent de Paul-Chicago, the Lake County Health Department and the Lake County Housing Authority.
