Volunteers are needed in Illinois and Indiana.

LERT volunteers, under Lutheran Church Charities Disaster Response direction, are deploying to Merrillville, IN, and other sites in Northwest Indiana and Northern Illinois this week to bring chainsaw assistance, dragging, and debris removal after an 80 mph derecho hit last Wednesday, followed by a series of tornadoes that ripped through the region on Thursday. 

The double shot of severe weather produced at least 17 tornadoes in the area, including three EF-3 twisters of 136 to 165 mph hitting the towns of Streator and Washburn in Illinois and Hebron and Kouts in Indiana, according to the National Weather Service. Merrillville took a direct hit from an EF-2 tornado with estimated winds of 100-120 mph. Other areas suffered damage from EF-1 tornadoes. 

Multiple towns and churches in the Northern Illinois District have reached out to LCC for assistance, including Streator, where LCC will help when it is declared safe. Over the weekend, Lutheran Early Response Team (LERT) volunteers completed work at seven sites that suffered damage from straight-line winds and will continue to help at two more sites near Chicago churches today.  

In both states, LERT volunteers are trained to bring care, compassion, and the presence of Christ to these hurting communities amid cleanup. 

 "O, My people, trust in Him at all times.
Pour out your heart to Him, for God is our Refuge."

(Psalm 62:8 NLT)

In Northwest Indiana, LCMS Pastor Josh Osbun, Indiana District Disaster Response Coordinator, invited LERT volunteers, under LCC direction, to provide chainsaw assistance to multiple towns after three separate tornadoes struck the area. In Merrillville, an EF-2 twister destroyed more than 200 structures, including a local high school and middle school.  

Osbun and Deaconess Kathy O’Day, director of LCC Disaster Response, have begun assessing the damage and have met with Merrillville officials, who expressed gratitude for the help. 

“You are the only volunteer group so far offering free skilled labor to help our residents,” they told LCC.

The storms’ destruction appears widespread, with large trees uprooted, roofs torn apart, power poles snapped, and wires strewn everywhere. Some areas are still restricted for traffic as of this morning.

In a survey of a few parts of town, residents told Osbun and O'Day that they feel overwhelmed and unsure of what the future holds. 

“As we walked the neighborhoods, we met several homeowners and had the opportunity to share the hope of Christ and pray with them,” she said. “They couldn’t believe we were offering to return to help remove their uprooted and damaged trees from their homes and yards.”

LCC volunteers and LERT crews will deploy throughout Illinois and Indiana for a two-week assignment starting tomorrow through June 27. Trinity Lutheran Church in Crown Point, IN, will host the volunteers. LCC anticipates additional volunteer help from churches in South Bend, IN, and southern Indiana.  

For O’Day, this deployment is very personal. The areas damaged by the Merrillville EF-2 tornado are four miles from her home, and the EF-3 twister in Hebron was about five miles away.

“It was a scary night,” she said.