Six weeks and four days ago, after an EF3 tornado tore through north St. Louis, Gloria Nolan and her family are still displaced.
The tornado ripped the roof their home near Fairground Park, destroyed parts of their ceiling and rendered the house uninhabitable. Nolan, her husband, Kevin, and their two kids are now living in temporary housing. It鈥檚 a situation they expect to last at least a year while repairs are made.
Nolan told St. Louis on the Air that displacement is about more than living in temporary housing.
鈥淓verything is uprooted. Think about your day-to-day. You come home, you put your bag down, you put your keys somewhere, you want to cook dinner. Like all of those pieces are a part of the displacement,鈥� Nolan said. 鈥淚 don't have access to my things. My quality of sleep is different [because] I'm not sleeping in my bed. I have to remember that I'm not going home. I'm going somewhere else to lay my head at night.鈥�
Nolan鈥檚 home was issued a red sticker, indicating it鈥檚 unsafe to live in. In an appearance on St. Louis on the Air four days after the tornado, Nolan said she was disappointed in how city leaders had responded to the disaster. Since then, she continues to visit her neighborhood to check on the home and her neighbors, and she鈥檚 seen more government officials in her neighborhood accessing damage and offering assistance.
鈥淚 saw representatives from FEMA there, and they were canvassing the neighborhood. I did have an opportunity to stop and talk to them. They encouraged me to put in an application 鈥� [and] they took applications onsite,鈥� she said. 鈥淚'm actually going to a community meeting tonight at Herbert Hoover Boys and Girls Club to hear from the leadership in the 11th and 12th wards and also from the mayor. [Progress] is moving a little bit slower than I'd like, but I think that it's certainly coming.鈥�
Nolan is focused on doing whatever she can to move things forward 鈥� even though so much remains out of her control.
鈥淭his is our life, and it's just on hold. I know people are doing their jobs, and they're doing the best that they can while we just wait,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t's unfortunate, but I know we'll get through it.鈥�
For more on the Nolans鈥� experience in recovering from the May 16 tornado, including the testing and assessments involved in returning to their home, listen to St. Louis on the Air on , , or click the play button below.
鈥�鈥� brings you the stories of St. Louis and the people who live, work and create in our region. The show is produced by , , , and . Darrious Varner is our production assistant. The audio engineer is .
