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Family forced to live in one room after tree crashes through mobile home

INDIANAPOLIS – An Indiana couple’s mobile home has been reduced to one livable room after a tree came crashing through the roof Saturday. Jossie Eci...
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INDIANAPOLIS - An Indiana couple's mobile home has been reduced to one livable room after a tree came crashing through the roof Saturday.

Jossie Eciwaudah said she heard a rumbling sound seconds before a tree limb crushed her family's mobile home Saturday.

She and her husband Ronald said strong winds brought a dead tree behind their home down on their roof, causing a cave-in and ripping off the back exterior wall.

“The very next split second from the rumble it was on top of us,” Jossie said.

The couple said they were sitting on the couch in one of the only rooms untouched by the collapse.

Split rafters and insulation now hang in their kitchen. The bathroom was destroyed, and a wall in the back bedroom was torn down.

Now, the couple has two functional rooms: one to live in and one containing all the items they could salvage from the house.

“We’ve tried to do the best we could with what we’ve got, which ain’t much,” Jossie said.

Rebuilding won't be easy for the couple. Jossie works part-time cleaning homes and part-time at a seasonal church camp. Ronald was recently laid off. Their options are even slimmer since they do not have renters insurance.

The couple's landlord offered to temporarily place them in another mobile home, but they said that too is unlivable.

The Eciwaudah's said they hope to move to a home down the street but can't currently pay the first month's rent and deposit.

Until they find a solution, one room, space heaters and blankets will have to suffice.

“I just want a place to live and be warm again, to have a normal life again,” Jossie said.

The American Red Cross provided money to cover their immediate needs when the tree fell, but most of that money went to their car. A downed limb shattered the windshield, and Jossie said without they car they would be stranded.

The Red Cross said their case workers will revisit the home in the coming days to provide more assistance and help the family move forward.

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