MonticelloLive

This year, Arkansas has been battered repeatedly by an onslaught of severe weather, torrential rains, violent tornadoes, and damaging winds. We have struggled through more than our fair share of destruction and misery. We have lost too many lives. We have lost too many homes and businesses. We have lost too many crops. But we have never lost our spirit, our courage, our compassion.

Last week, Arkansas experienced another round of devastating weather in the string of storms that have swept across our State in the last few months. Tornadoes decimated the communities of Damascus, Southside, Heber Springs, and Earle. The hearts of all Arkansans go out to the residents of these communities and others who were affected by the most recent tornadoes.

I will continue to ensure that all the resources within my control will be used to help in the rebuilding. The State, with assistance from federal agencies, will continue to work in tandem to guarantee that every Arkansan eligible for assistance will receive it. To help achieve this goal, my office and the Public Service Commission this week announced the launch of a new phone service, 2-1-1. Social services, such as food banks, shelters, and providers of utility assistance, will now be just a phone call away, but that’s not all. Dialing 2-1-1 also connects people to mental-health services, employment support, disability organizations, senior care, support for children, youth and families, and even volunteer and donation opportunities. The 2-1-1 phone system will work in conjunction with all of our state agencies to provide support for storm victims across the state, and I am pleased to note that Arkansas is among the first states to provide this service statewide.

While 2-1-1 is a nationally recognizable number that makes a connection between callers and the appropriate community-based organizations and government agencies that can help them, we also have many people on the ground who also bring assistance to those in need. The Arkansas Department of Emergency Management, the National Guard, local law enforcement, public-safety personnel, and everyday Arkansans have shown great determination, ingenuity, and strength in recent weeks, and I know they will continue to respond admirably. In the weeks ahead, the Department of Health, the Department of Human Services, and many other state agencies will step forward to assist, as Arkansans once again work to rebuild their lives.

Ginger and I continue to pray for those who have lost loved ones. All Arkansans will keep you in our thoughts and prayers in the weeks and months ahead. To those of you who are still displaced, I promise that you are not alone. Arkansans are unified in their concern and desire to see you restored to your homes and livelihoods. Together, we will respond, as we have so many times before, by rebuilding and improving our communities.

When unexpected events like these occur, even though the destruction is great, the power of the human spirit shines through. Community members rally around their friends and neighbors to provide aid and comfort to those who have lost their homes and belongings. Through all the pain, hope for the future perseveres — hope for stronger, healthier communities; hope for more equitable communities, hope for more prosperous communities.

Arkansans have an undying and unyielding spirit to move forward and accomplish great things while facing even the most difficult odds. We are certainly not immune to tragedy, but we are strong because of our industriousness, our ingenuity, and, most important, because of our compassion for one another. We are a State filled with people of action, and a State filled with humanitarians. We do not give up in the face of adversity; we stand up, and we reach out to help those who cannot stand up on their own. When we are united, nothing can stop us.