CELIA MERCADO
A Family's Resilience in the Face of Destruction
For Celia Mercado and her family, the night of December 10, 2021, was a “horrible night.” A tornado was upon their house, and they could feel the house moving. Terribly frightened, Celia and her family hunkered down trying to stay alive and safe. The tornado was gone in a matter of minutes, but the house was so badly damaged that it was pushed off its foundation and some of the corners of the house had been ripped off. Although the temperature had been unseasonably warm prior to the tornado, it dropped significantly following the tornado.
Celia and her family tried to stay warm by putting mattresses against the living room wall. It was one of the few walls that was intact and stable. Celia was worried about her kids staying warm, especially her newborn that was only about a month old at the time. Despite everything, Celia says, “Thank God no one was injured.”
Later, they were able to get a generator and some financial assistance from FEMA and several churches gave them food and other supplies to help them survive. Getting long-term help was difficult for Celia and her family, though. Celia’s native language is Spanish. Her English is very limited, so she had no knowledge of the types of assistance available to tornado survivors. She filled out a few applications for assistance at her children’s school and at the Mayfield City Hall, but she says no one called her.
So, they were struggling just to get by when Celia and her neighbors were victims of the historic flood on July 19th, 2023. Although the waters did not cause much more damage to her house, the street was flooded, and Celia and her family were stranded until the waters receded.
Finally, around October of 2023, someone told her about the Mayfield Graves Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG). Celia’s brother-in-law contacted the Mayfield Graves LTRG for her, and she was added to the list for case management. Eventually, Celia was assigned a Case Manager and was put in contact with the Mayfield Graves LTRG’s Spanish-speaking navigator, Jaime. Her Case Manager and Jaime helped her apply to one of the Mayfield Graves LTRG’s partners, the Appalachia Service Project (ASP), to see if she would qualify for one of the new homes they were building for tornado survivors.
Fortunately, ASP approved Celia’s application, and she was connected with Camp Graves, another partner of the Mayfield Graves LTRG. She and her family were able to live there while their house was being built. Although she was thankful she was getting a new home, Celia states it was a challenge being displaced from her home, and she was impatient at times. Celia is grateful to Jaime for helping her through this by translating for her, keeping her in the loop, and answering all of her questions.
Celia said all of this has changed her perspectives on life, resiliency, and the need for preparedness for future disasters. She states, “I was ignorant of the possibility of a tornado in our area, but now I know that it is possible. I also know there are resources available for people.”