UNION CITY, Mich. — Union City Community Schools reopened their doors for the first time since Friday's tornado, and the community wasted no time coming together to support families in need.
The district took Monday off to prepare staff before welcoming students back. During that time, the crisis team assembled debriefing packets for teachers, and school leaders met with each building separately to help staff process their emotions.
"Everybody has a different story to tell, and everybody just needs to be heard," said Union City High School Principal Amber Case. "We really are kind of suffering together, but also supporting each other in a beautiful way."
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On the first day back, counselors from neighboring districts joined the school's own counseling staff to work directly with students. Each teacher read a prepared statement to their first-hour class, and students filled out a form indicating how they were feeling and whether they needed additional support. The district also stationed a substitute teacher in the building to float between classrooms and give teachers a break if needed.
"It is an emotionally charged day," Case said.
Inside the field house, thousands of donated items — including clothes, toys, baby wipes, bedding and hot meals — were made available free of charge to anyone impacted by the storm. Local restaurants have been donating and volunteers have been preparing food on site.
The field house is open daily from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Case said the district plans to keep it available as long as possible.
"Of course, we'll have to modify plans and locations at some point. But for right now, we're set up. We're ready for anything that comes in or anybody that comes in," Case said.
Volunteer Rhonda Elliott, who was not in the path of the tornado but came to help after seeing the devastation, guided visitors through the massive collection of supplies.
"I was talking to someone who came in here, they had no bedding no towels no nothing," Elliott said.
Fellow volunteer Lisa Tubergan said the response has been overwhelming since relief efforts first began Friday morning.
"We're almost up to 1600. We started Friday morning," Tubergan said.
Union City High School also briefly served as a shelter in the immediate aftermath of the tornado. Case said the community response was so strong that no displaced residents ultimately had to spend the night at the school — enough people offered their homes that everyone was accommodated.
For students who lost their homes, Case said the district is actively working to meet needs as they come in.
"Yeah, thankfully, everyone that we know of who's been displaced has a safe, warm place to stay. We are taking requests for support regularly and meeting those needs as quickly as we possibly can," Case said.
Case also noted that with the possibility of additional severe weather in the forecast, the school is focusing on helping students manage their anxiety by encouraging them to focus on what they can control and make sure they are as prepared as possible.
Case highlighted the range of community support pouring in — from volunteers staffing the field house every day, to one woman who drove from her farm to hand-deliver a basket of eggs.
Anyone in need of supplies outside of regular field house hours is encouraged to contact the school directly.
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