“I just didn’t think that this was ever going to happen. I just can’t believe it. I’m still in shock,” Creager said. “I’m at home again and back to normal — with a brand-new home that I never thought I’d have in my whole entire life.”
Creager initially thought she’d never be able to return to the street in Old North Dayton. Then she said a lot of little pieces started to “fit perfectly together” after seeking assistance through the Miami Valley Long-Term Recovery Operations Group.
“When Christine came to us for assistance, her request was simply for our help in demolishing her tornado-destroyed home so she wouldn’t be liable for a dangerous structure,” said Laura Mercer, the group’s executive director.
But the disaster team was able to provide Creager with a different plan: rebuild.
The roof was mostly torn off , the porch was heavily damaged, many windows were blown out and rain poured into the house and filled the basement, eventually causing extensive mold throughout. In short, it was unsalvageable, according to Habitat for Humanity of Greater Dayton, which managed the construction project.
Credit: Chris Stewart
Credit: Chris Stewart
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The many pieces of the rebuild included a Small Business Administration loan, funding through the Miami Valley Long-Term Recovery operations Group, the Federal Home Loan Bank of Cincinnati and Habitat through a partnership with CareSource. The work was completed by Habitat volunteers as well as those from the SouthBrook Christian Church Disaster Response Team and Brethren Disaster Ministries. Logan Heating and Air Conditioning, Inc. donated and installed a new HVAC system in the home.
“I really don’t know what we would have done without Habitat’s help,” Creager said. “I was an uninsured homeowner and did not have the resources to start over.”
A record-setting 16 twisters hit the western side of Ohio the night of May 27, 2019, including a powerful EF4 tornado that tore across Montgomery County leaving 915 structures uninhabitable, a disproportionate majority in lower income areas where fewer owners were likely to be covered by insurance.
As the tornado hit, Creager, her daughter, Kansas, now 18, and their cat, Midnight, took refuge in the basement.
“It was just unreal — the creaking, the house blowing away,” Creager said last year. “I went out there in the dark and looked up and my roof was gone … All the trees and everything was down. It was unbelievable. It was like World War III out there.”
They finally coaxed Midnight from the rubble three weeks after the storm.
Midnight now has a built-in perch that Habitat workers installed in the new front window.
“It’s just so perfect for her to be able to enjoy the window,” Creager said. “We’re very thankful for them for doing that.”
Habitat and the recovery group also helped Creager’s parents, Dorothy and Chris Johnson, rebuild. The Johnsons moved home last September to where they’d lived for nearly a quarter century.
“It looks better now than it did when we first moved in here. So they did a great job, everybody involved. I’m just grateful for them,” said Chris Johnson, a Vietnam War veteran.
Of the 2,076 cases opened through the long-term recovery group’s case management system, 446 have been homeowners seeking help with repairs or rebuilding. Of the 133 cases that remain open, 71 are homeowners lacking resources to fully repair or rebuild, according to Mercer.
The community heals a little more with each tornado-damaged house that’s repaired, said Norm Miozzi, Habitat of Greater Dayton’s executive director.
“Helping families like Christine and her daughter recover from the tornadoes not only puts them on a path to a strong, stable future, it helps to reestablish the neighborhood in which they live,” he said.
Creager and Kansas lived in Miami Twp. rental house along with the Johnsons until they moved home last year. Now back home, mother and daughter have been going through belongings they haven’t seen in nearly two years.
“It’s a daunting task to just get our boxes out of storage and go through everything and try to remember what our lives were like,” Creager said. “Everything’s been put on hold.”
The outside of the Creager’s house is painted blue, just like it was before. The inside is a little smaller, but the open floorplan makes it seem larger, she said.
Creager said she’s thankful for the many volunteers and donations that assisted tornado survivors including her family.
“God’s blessed us with this brand-new home and we hope to be able to serve him with it the best that we can,” she said. “It was totally unexpected and totally undeserved.”
In addition to a new garage, their home also features a new basement, which Creager doesn’t wish to use as a storm shelter.
“Hopefully we’ll never have to do that again in our lives,” she said. “We don’t want to go through that again. An F4 tornado was not fun.”
Individuals who still need help recovering from the tornadoes can reach a disaster case manager by calling Catholic Social Services at 937-223-7217 ext. 1137.
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