Seneca man writes request for help on roof after tornado rips apart his home

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SENECA WITH THE STORY. >> LAST MONDAY, THE PATTERSON FAMILY LOST EVERYTHING AND NOW HUSBAND AND FATHER BILL PATTERSON IS GETTING CREATIVE AND ASKING FOR HELP WITH SIX WORDS AND A CAN OF WHITE SPRAY PAINT. >> THIS WAS THE ENTRANCE TO OUR HOUSE. >> THE HOUSE BILL PATTERSON HAS SPENT MOST OF HIS LIFE IN IS NOW UNRECOGNIZABLE. THIS BEFORE AND AFTER SHOWS JUST HOW MUCH DAMAGE THE APRIL 13 TORNADO LEFT BEHIND. >> THE DINING ROOM AREA WAS HERE, FIREPLACE COMPLETELY GONE. >> POWERFUL WINDS KNOCKED HIS HOME ALMOST 15 FEET OFF ITS FOUNDATION. >> THIS IS A CLOSET THEY WERE IN. >> PATTERSON AND HIS WIFE AND HIS AUTISTIC SON HID IN THIS CLOSET AS THEIR ROOF COLLAPSED AND THEIR WALLS CAVED. THE FAMILY IS OK BUT THE HOUSE IS A TOTAL LOSS. >> MAYBE FEEL SORRY FOR YOURSELF JUST FOR A MOMENT BUT YOU HAVE TO PICK YOURSELF UP. THAT IS NO WAY TO LIVE. >> THEY DO NOT HAVE THE INSURANCE TO COVER ANY OF THIS. FOR THE PATTERSON FAMILY, THERE IS NO RESCUE SQUAD. THERE’S NO MAN IN A RED CAPE. SO AS A LAST RESORT AND WITH SOME CREATIVITY, A PUBLIC PLEA FOR HELP FOR ANYONE LOOKING OR LISTENING. >> I GOT UP ON THE ROOF AND WROTE MY VENMO UP THERE. MAYBE THIS WILL DRAW SOME ATTENTION TO WHAT WE’RE TRYING TO DO. >> IN WHITE SPRAY PAINT, AN OPEN INVITATION TO ALL TO GIVE TO A FAMILY IN NEED. >> EVERYTHING I AM DOING REVOLVES AROUND MY WIFE AND KIDS. DOING EVERYTHING I CAN TO REBUILD FOR THEM AND REACH OUT FOR HELP. >> SO FAR, BILL SAYS MANY PEOPLE HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO THE PATTERSON FAMILY VIA VENMO AND HOPES STORIES LIKE THESE WILL BRING ATTENTION TO ALL OF THE FAMILIES AFFECTED BY LAST WEEK’S TORNADO. THE ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM IN SENECA IS NOW BACK ONLINE, ONE STEP CLOSER TO A SENSE OF NORMALCY FOR EVERYONE HERE.

The Patterson family lost its home in the tornado that blew through Seneca on April 13.

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