Relief, donations pour in after Nashville bombing
NASHVILLE, Tennessee – As the news about a downtown bombing spread across Nashville and the nation on Christmas Day, nonprofit and aid workers in the region began texting and calling each other to mobilize.
The Salvation Army was in the area within hours, setting up tents and providing supplies and housing resources for those displaced by the blast.
Second Harvest Food Bank of Middle Tennessee, Hands On Nashville and the Community Resource Center coordinated efforts for food, housing, essentials and volunteers.
The Red Cross set up a temporary site for the nearly 1,600 people affected, which included business owners, residents and guests staying in the area. The United Way of Greater Nashville partnered with Metro Nashville leaders to mobilize fundraising as people around the city, nation and world looked for ways to help a city already tested by a difficult year.
“Even in a year where Nashvillians have taken hit after hit – when people are themselves hurting and tired – they are still willing to help out however they can,” said Lindsey Turner, director of communications at Hands On Nashville. “That’s the spirit of Nashville: to keep helping each other no matter what.”
Nashville’s Office of Emergency Management has a plan that has been in place since 1999 to work with nonprofits in the area when disaster strikes, spokesperson Joseph Pleasant said. It coordinates with nonprofit partners for human services, food, donations, volunteers and recovery.
But the response to the bombing has been a different experience, according to Lori Shinton, president and CEO for Hands On Nashville.
This time, instead of facing a natural disaster or a pandemic, relief workers and victims are trying to make sense of a different kind of tragedy. As they worked to mobilize, Shinton said she and others were struggling to understand with what had happened and why.
“I think our brains take a while to figure out how we categorize this, how we process it, internalize it and move forward,” she said.
So far, the Community Resource Center said it has brought in close to $500,000 from monetary donations and supplies.
The Salvation Army in Nashville said 407 households received over $36,000 in direct assistance between Christmas and New Year’s Day, including gift cards and Uber credits to help with basic, immediate needs.
Community Resource Center President Maria Amado said she’s amazed at how many local businesses, organizations, nonprofits and residents have helped. She said they are working on short-term relief while preparing for the long haul of support and recovery.
“We’re going to be there for these residents and business owners and their employees until they’re settled,” Amado said. “Our community is going to prop us all up. There’s a reason that the first word in our name is ‘community.”
“We’re Nashville strong and we have each other’s back. We are here to support one another,” said Nancy Keil, President and CEO for Second Harvest.