One Year Later: A Long Journey Ahead After the May 16 Tornado

A Year Later: Remembering the Tornado and the Ongoing Recovery

One year after a tornado devastated parts of north and west St. Louis, residents gathered in Fountain Park to honor the five lives lost and reflect on the long road to recovery. At 2:39 p.m., the exact time the tornado struck, people stood in silence, marking a moment of remembrance for a community still healing.

Reverend Dr. Dietra Wise Baker, transitional pastor for Centennial Christian Church Disciples of Christ, emphasized the importance of both internal and external healing. “We’re here to heal not just the inside but the outside,” she said.

Stephanie Reynolds, with 314 Oasis, highlighted the significance of the one-year anniversary as a pivotal point in the recovery process. Her family was also affected by the storm. “One year later, things are in many ways just as bad and in a lot of cases worse than they were in the day after the tornado,” Reynolds shared.

The 314 Oasis has established recovery hubs in Fountain Park and O’Fallon, along with outreach locations across north St. Louis. They organized the remembrance event in collaboration with community partners. The organization is now focusing on the Oasis Care Program, which aims to help those impacted by the tornado access essential services and resources. Reynolds noted that the need continues well beyond the anniversary.

“There’s still children sleeping in cars. There’s still people whose homes are destroyed and have not been rebuilt,” Reynolds said. “It’s going to take years to recover what has been lost.”

Debra Carter, a lifelong member of Centennial Christian Church, described the ongoing grief in the community. “Nothing can describe what we went through. We’re still going through this,” she said. “It’s going to take years before we get through it.”

During the ceremony at Fountain Park, the community honored Patricia Penelton, Delois Holmes, Rena Scott-Lyles, Larry Patrick, and Juan Baltazar, who lost their lives in the storm. Centennial Christian Church, which has served the community for 121 years, was significantly damaged and recently demolished.

Dr. Wise Baker stressed the importance of collective effort in rebuilding. “Fountain Park and Lewis Place are here. Centennial Christian Church is here. All these partner organizations are out here, 314 Oasis, the People’s Response, folks that have been here from day one,” she said. “We’re all here. We’re sticking together. We’re staying together and we’re moving forward.”

She urged continued support for the community. “Don’t forget that people are still down here suffering and that they need your support and your voice and your demand that this part of the city recovers.” She referenced the Joplin, Missouri, tornado, which took about 10 years to recover from. “That community didn’t have the same demographic or historical divestment that this one does,” she said. “So, there has to be an urgency and an intentionality if this community is going to recover in a 10-year period.”

Clara Holmes attended a remembrance event called Rise Up STL at Fairground Park. Her childhood home, passed down to her and her sister after their father died in 2023, is still waiting to be repaired. Holmes expressed frustration over the lack of funding from FEMA and the difficulty in accessing other programs. “At first they said that me and my sister was approved for $75,000 grant money. Now they say it’s a waiting list,” she said. “We were so close to getting them to give the funds to a contractor to fix the house. So now they say it’s a waiting list. It hurts.”

Holmes noted that her church, where she had attended her entire life, was demolished, along with many other homes and businesses. “A lot of people still don’t have nowhere to stay,” she said.

Churches and organizations like All Hands on Deck came together for Rise Up STL, offering resources, food, music, and a concert. Pastor Robert LaPlante explained that the event aimed to reach people traumatized by the tornado. “Getting your whole world picked up literally and thrown upside down and seeing everything around you being destroyed, it does something to you. It makes you afraid. It makes you unsure,” he said.

For two weeks before the event, organizers reached out to residents, providing access to lawyers, insurance representatives, and other service providers. LaPlante emphasized the importance of staying connected with survivors. “You get so lonely, you get so drawn into this fear world of trauma,” he said.

Devon Wilson of Sword of the Spirit Gospel Ministries described the event as a way to uplift and provide hope. “Many of these people right here are suffering from just a lot of trauma,” he said. “We wanted to come bring light into a dark situation. We wanted to have giveaways, share testimonials, and a message of hope to let them know they don’t have to do this alone.”

Pastor Shane Blackledge of Cultivate Church participated in the event, emphasizing the need to show those impacted that they are not forgotten. The event will be held again next year.

Holmes said the event helped reduce stress. “I want to thank everybody who put on a good event, who gave away stuff,” she said. “A lot of people is hurting. We have thousands and thousands of houses that were demolished.”

While the one-year mark is a significant moment, Reynolds stressed that the community needs ongoing support. “To be able to be out in community and help those around us is everything,” she said. “Not enough has been done, as we all know.”

“On the day of, sort of the memorial, the one-year after mark, everybody’s remembering. But in a week, in two weeks, in a month, there’s still folks here that don’t have what they need,” Reynolds added. “Recovery is just beginning.”