Wiggins church helps community after major flooding leaves Stone County residents in need
WIGGINS, Miss. (WXXV) — Now that the rain has subsided and tropical storm Arthur is gone, residents in Stone County are working on recovery.
Vardaman Street Baptist Church in Wiggins is stepping up to help those in need by providing clothing, food, hot showers, and, of course, prayer. That support is coming not only from members of their own community, but also from people traveling from near and far to lend a helping hand.
“It warms a pastor’s heart. It’s what we preach about. We want the community together. We want our brothers and sisters in Christ to come together and link arms, and unfortunately, as we’ve seen in history, what does that the most is tragedies. So, when this tragedy hit in our community, people came together,” said Pastor Jake Staten. “People are cleaning out their closets and brining them here. Most of the people are washing them, folding them, making sure they’re clean before they even get here so we don’t have to do it. I’ve had donations from Texas already. Other churches. Communities, organizations, businesses. Local — from Poplarville, Wiggins, Lucedale, Gulfport. It’s coming from all over the place, and I can’t be more grateful for that.”
Stone County was hit hard by flooding caused by the remnants of tropical storm Arthur. Many people lost their homes and vehicles leaving families in need of assistance. Pastor Staten says he knew he and his team had to step up quickly to help.
“I know a lot of these people here and I’m acquainted with a lot of them, and so it was absolutely heartbreaking. As soon as I saw the water rising, I know the flood areas around this community. I knew for a fact that Vardaman Street had to step in and open up our showers, open up our facilities, the volunteers to come and spend the night, open up our doors for donations. It was just a need that the community had and I’m so grateful to pastor a church that was willing to open up its doors to the people in their time of need,” he said. “A lot of them are elderly. A lot of them have worked so hard for their homes for so many years. In just one night they’re gone, so they’re just needing someone to talk to. They’re needing a friend. They’re needing someone to have prayer with them. They’re needing someone to take them by the hand and tell them that everything’s okay.”
It’s important to note that these resources are specifically intended for those affected by the flooding. Pastor Staten says the church has had to implement strict guidelines for anyone seeking assistance, but adds there’s a reason behind that decision. He says the goal is to make sure limited resources reach the people who need them most.
“I love these people, and I want to minister to these people. The reality is that this distribution center is for the flood victims, and it needs to be given to the flood victims. If we have anything left over after all this is said and done, I’ll open up the doors and they can come get whatever. I welcome that, but until the need is met, until the elderly are clothed and fed, until the children have good diapers, until their basic needs are met, then this distribution center is set up strictly for these flood victims — for them to get back to some type of normalcy,” said Staten.
Right now, they appreciate all of the donations, but what they are seriously in need of are boots-on-the-ground volunteers.
“We’re wholly dependent on volunteers. we’ve had a lot so far, we need to keep them coming,” said Brandy Haden, President of Just the Crumbs Disaster Ministry. “If you have carpentry experience, that is a plus. Electrician experience is a plus. If we got knowlegable people that can at least lead crews, that way they can have people helping them, but then we need somebody that actually knows what they’re doing in the crew. It definitely pays to have experienced people, but no experience required, just willing.”
If you have some extra time on your hands and want to lend a helping hand, reach out to Vardaman Street Baptist Church, or simply show up any day this week at 8 a.m. for breakfast. They will put volunteers to work immediately afterward. The clothing and food drive is open from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day.
