EAST PALESTINE, Ohio — In the last couple weeks Robert Helbeck has seen the good.
“They just bring it in and drop it off,” he said.
The senior minister at the First Church of Christ in East Palestine says they’ve received so many calls for food and water donations they’ve had to organize deliveries over the next several weeks.
“Yeah, people from all over…calling and wanting to help,” he said. “All over the country.”
People wanting to help knowing those living here are struggling.
“What is it like seeing your community go through this in the last couple weeks,” 10TV’s Bryant Somerville asked Helbeck.
“Well, it’s hard,” Helbeck said. “It breaks your heart to see people so concerned. Especially for the kids [and] for their animals, also.”
Since the Norfolk Southern derailment earlier this month that caused many people in this small town to evacuate, there has been a lingering question: Is my family safe?
“Unsure about the future, that’s the big thing,” Helbeck said. “Right now it seems great, the air seems fine. People are concerned about what’s gonna happen five years, ten years down the road.”
Tuesday, Helbeck’s church will open its doors.
“Any way we can, we’re glad to help,” he said.
It will host a health assessment clinic that is being put on by the Ohio Department of Health and the Columbiana County Health Department, with support from the U. S. Department of Health. It will be for any resident who has medical questions or concerns.
“Whatever they need, we’re glad to help,” Helbeck said.
Calls to the Ohio Department of Health to see if Tuesday’s event would only consist of question asking, or if residents will be able to have certain tests done, such as blood tests, were not returned.