NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — After three days without power at Nashville Christian Towers, Glenda and Gary Duncan discovered their friend huddled under blankets and an entire building full of seniors in desperate need of food and warmth.
The 12-story senior living facility lost power earlier this week, leaving 177 residents without heat, elevator access or working alarms. I reported on the dire conditions, where residents described their bodies hurting from the cold and feeling abandoned during the outage.
Power was restored shortly after the initial story aired, but the Duncans quickly realized a new crisis had emerged.
"The three things I heard were I'm cold, I'm hungry and I feel abandoned," Glenda Duncan said. "I looked at my husband and I said can we go get food."
The couple sprang into action, making sandwiches, gathering chips, peanut butter crackers and water to distribute throughout the building.
"We made sandwiches we had chips. We had peanut butter crackers. We had water," Glenda Duncan said.
They carried supplies up six flights of stairs before the elevator was restored, feeding more than 100 people across multiple meals.
"Just to see their face when I would hand them a bag of food. It would've warmed my heart, knowing that I was filling a need that god had given me to do," Glenda Duncan said.
The power outage spoiled groceries that residents had stocked with community and social security benefits. Many seniors in the building cannot easily provide for themselves or replace the lost food.
"There's 177 units here and about that many tenants," Gary Duncan said. "You're probably looking at every single one of them. Their food is spoiled."
The Duncans hope greater services will help bridge the gap for residents who lost their food supplies during the extended outage.
"What are they gonna do about replenishing that food," Glenda Duncan said.
Residents who had been struggling through the crisis showed signs of relief once power was restored and help arrived.
"I see smiles today. I didn't see those in the past two days," Duncan said.
Have you witnessed acts of kindness in your community during the winter storm? Share your story with me at amanda.roberts@newschannel5.com.
This story was reported on-air by Amanda Roberts and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
