Dixie Bergeron isn’t the type to ask for help – even after her mobile home was destroyed by the May 13 storm that rolled through Forrest and Lamar counties.
Knowing that, Bergeron’s friend Brittany Brock created a GoFundMe page to help raise funds to purchase a new home for Bergeron and her daughter Myracle, who lived near the Barrontown community outside Petal.
“I was shocked and thankful (that she set up the fundraiser), because anyone who knows me, knows that no matter what I’m going through, I’m not going to ask for help,” Bergeron said. “I take a lot of pride in being independent, and I work very hard for what my daughter and I have, and I don’t like asking for help.”
Donations can be made on GoFundMe at https://shorturl.at/ID48P.
“My mobile home appeared brand new, but it was 30 years old, so I had around $15,000 worth of insurance on the actual trailer, and I think around $4,000 on the contents,” Bergeron said. “So unfortunately, that’s not enough to even get a used trailer right now, so that’s why (Brock) set up the GoFundMe.
“One of the cheapest used mobile homes that we could find, that would even be livable, is around $38,000. That’s not even counting the moving costs and the setup and everything else that’s going to come with it.”
As of May 21, the fundraiser had reached $3,105 of its $50,000 goal, courtesy of 25 donations.
“It’s been up about a week, and Petal Nutrition gave $1,000,” Bergeron said. “So we’re very thankful for that (and to everyone else who donated).”
In the meantime, Bergeron and her daughter are staying at the home of a family in Oak Grove.
The storm passed through in the early morning hours of May 13, causing damage in areas such as Oak Grove, Sumrall and Petal. In the Leeville, Barrontown, Macedonia and Carterville communities outside Petal, the storm caused several felled trees – three of which fell on the Bergeron home.
“I thought, ‘God, please don’t let my daughter die; please let her be okay,’” Bergeron said. “I felt the trailer moving, so she came in (the room) with me, and I threw my arms around her and I said, ‘we have to get out of here.’
“So we jump up and we go to run toward the living room, because that was the center of the house and away from windows, and when we get to the room, it’s like an air conditioner hits us in our face – the whole end of the trailer had a tree all the way through it. Water was just blowing in, and the back door swung open, and I’m screaming, ‘please God let us be okay,’ because there was nowhere to go.”
Even after Bergeron and her daughter were able to make it out of the trailer, they were unable to drive their vehicle out of the yard because of downed trees blocking their access to the road.
“We were the only house on the road affected,” Bergeron said. “We couldn’t get out until the fire department came (and removed the trees).
“I did call 911 because the power was still on in my trailer, as crazy as that is, and I could see the electrical wires hanging in the bedroom. I was afraid the house was going to catch on fire and we were going to be electrocuted, honestly.”
Bergeron probably wouldn’t have created the GoFundMe on her own, she is thankful and hopeful that it will raise the necessary funds.
“I’m the one that typically helps others, so it’s hard to be on the other end of the stick,” she said.
