Dolly Baskin assesses damage down Penrose Street while standing in front of her north St. Louis home on Saturday. Storms and a tornado swept through a large part of the city’s center the prior day, damaging hundreds of homes and leaving at least five people dead.

A tornado that ripped through central St. Louis on Friday afternoon has left at least five dead, 38 injured, and an estimated 5,000 buildings damaged,

In the wake of last Friday’s deadly storm, heartbreak has turned into action. With damage stretching across north St. Louis, the community didn’t wait for help—they became it. And what’s rising from the rubble is something powerful: hope,