BARTLETT, Tenn. — Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Bartlett is providing shelter to those affected by power outages.
More than 20,000 MLGW customers are heading into another night without air conditioning as they remain without power. Others are without power due to the damage left behind by the storm.
Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church is one of the locations taking charge to keep the community safe from the heat and well-fed.
“Just trynna make sure people have a place to be comfortable,” Pastor Donald Johnson said.
Pastor Johnson brings the community together to serve the rest of the community. In partnership with other organizations like TVA and city leaders like Councilwoman Rhonda Logan and former Councilwoman Terri Dockery, Johnson’s church has been able to provide cases of water and hot meals for hundreds of people in need.
“We give them gift cards because some people need gas and some other items are essential,” Johnson said. “So, we don’t want to try to control what they can get, we just want to make it available.”
On the other side of Bartlett, the Patterson family is one of those impacted and trying to figure out how to get more than $100,000 to repair their home after a tree slammed through their roof.
“As of right now, we don’t have anything,” 17-year-old Kennedy Patterson said. Kennedy lived in the home with her brother and single mother, who has since created a GoFundMe in an effort to raise enough money to get their home fixed.
Some of the power is back on in the Bartlett area but the Pattersons' remains off, as the tree branches on the inside create a fire hazard. Without power for multiple days, no refrigerated food and no clear sign of when they’ll be able to get repairs started, the family has moved in with relatives and are hoping for a miracle.
If you or someone you know is in need of food, water, a place to charge your electronics or air conditioning, the Oak Grove Missionary Baptist Church will be open to everyone through at least Friday, June 30.
To get the full list of official cooling centers, text the word 'COOL' to 901 321 7520. ABC24 will send you the list, including addresses, right to your phone.
If you'd like to donate to the Patterson family's GoFundMe you can do so here.