BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The City of Good Neighbors was blanketed in snow on Monday.
“I think it's important that, as a community, we lookout for each other,” said Nate Peracciny.
Wednesday, he spent his day digging out people from the snow, who couldn’t dig themselves out. Two homes in Buffalo needed to be shoveled, including the sidewalks. Peracciny, quickly found help of his own.
“During that experience, an amazing man, Q, drove by with a snowblower and helped,” described Peracciny. He is a member of a brand-new grassroots initiative in Buffalo, the "Snow Brigade."
“It's what mutual aid is all about. It’s neighbors coming out, helping neighbors,” said Holly Nowak, a member of the Buffalo Mutual Aid Network. BMAN took action to help people stuck in their homes because of the snow, and quickly formed the Buffalo Snow Brigade.
There’s a form people fill out with how they can help. Those volunteers are dispatched throughout the city to shovel, snowblow, plow, or salt.
“To be stuck inside with no ability to leave your house, it was heavy,” said Peracciny.
Nowak is also a member of the Buffalo Transit Riders United, the Snow Brigade was supposed to be a part of a similar week-long initiative at the end of the month. The goal is to have people clear as much snow as they can from sidewalks and bus stops.
“The need made itself know, loudly. So, I imagine we’ll keep the Snow Brigade going,” said Nowak.
BTRU, advocates for the City of Buffalo to implement a municipal sidewalk clearing program.
“I hope that our city can innovate, adapt, and do better,” said Peracciny.
The Snow Brigade will continue to remove snow for those in need, whenever needed.
For their form to help, click here.
It's not just the Snow Brigade that's showing up to help.
GYC Ministries and Bury the Violence also teamed up and broke out the shovels to help clear the sidewalks for elderly neighbors on Bissell Avenue in Buffalo's Genesee Moselle Neighborhood.
"Our main concern was going out to the different organizations that can come out and use their arms and their man-power and volunteer such as this young man here, to come out and help clear these sidewalks so residents can walk and pedestrians can walk on the sidewalks as they should," said Pastor Tim Newkirk of GYC Ministries.
