Nashville Community Bands Together

Nashville communities are banding together to clean up and rebuild after a tornado touched down in Middle Tennessee early Tuesday morning. As of today, 25 people are confirmed dead and 22 people are still missing.

After the disaster, homes and businesses are undoubtedly still feeling the effect of the storm, leaving many people displaced. In an effort to get back to normal life, Nashville neighbors are banding together to clean up the streets of Germantown—one of the areas in Nashville that fell victim to the storm-forced winds—and the neighborhood we at redpepper call home.

On Wednesday, the emotions in Germantown were very mixed. Streets were closed off and there wasn’t the typical hustle and bustle of people walking to get coffee or driving in to get to work. Many of the buildings in the area were condemned, meaning all of the residents there had to leave. Thankfully businesses like the Red Cross and Airbnb are offering places to stay for those in need during this time. Local churches and countless community groups were offering free meals, blankets, and portable showers.

While our redpepper office remains severely damaged and uninhabitable, we are all safe and overwhelmed by the outpouring of love we are seeing around us.

If you feel able and inclined to help those in displaced and in need, The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee has activated the Middle Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.

I took the photos below, depicting the emotions felt in Germantown on Wednesday.