MUSKEGON COUNTY, Mich. — One month after storms swept through Muskegon County, Muskegon County Emergency Services hosted an event Monday night to help residents whose homes were impacted.
"We're doing everything we can to provide services to help them try and get back to as normal as possible," said Renee Gavin, Muskegon County Emergency Manager.
The event aimed to support residents and county efforts to clean up the damage left behind by two severe storms in June.
"Today we're having a mark event, which is a multi-agency resource coordination and that is basically a group of agencies that are here to help anybody that's been infected by the storms," said Gavin.
The county was hit by high winds which took down large trees and power lines. The winds also damaged homes and buildings. In response to the strong storms that caused widespread damage last month, Gavin said the County declared a state of emergency.
"We didn't qualify for the governor's declaration or for anything above that, or Small Business Association, or Small Business Administration, so this is the next step. If we can't meet needs in one way, we are problem solving in another direction," said Gavin.
Gavin said it's important for Muskegon County residents to have their problems heard and she hopes Monday's event is just one of the first steps in the damage recovery process.
"This is the first step, next steps are, you know, I'm asking people to come here so they can actually talk to some of these agencies directly. Because really, that's that's a way to get the services that you need. We just want to make sure that people are taken care of. We know that they've been through something traumatic, and it's important for them to be seen and heard and for them to be able to at least see if they qualify for some assistance," said Gavin.
If you couldn’t attend Monday's event in Muskegon County, Gavin said you can call the community access line of the lakeshore for assistance.