Tornado damage in Menasha, July 28, 2026. PC: Fox 11 Online
MENASHA, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — Some of those impacted by the tornado in Menasha are part of the immigrant and refugee community.
Non-profits are teaming up to offer them somewhere to stay and culturally-appropriate resources.
“The refugee population here in Menasha is one that maybe people don’t think about directly when thinking about the impacts of the tornado,” World Relief Wisconsin Regional Director Gail Cornelius said.
World Relief Wisconsin is a non-profit aimed to help refugee and immigrant families settle into communities.
Cornelius said about 17 refugee families were impacted in some way by July’s tornado.
For those that lost their home, they didn’t know where to turn.
To help, World Relief and Airbnb.org partnered to provide emergency housing.
“So, the program offers support for housing for the first month period of time. And then… we’re supporting families and finding longer term solutions as well and helping to navigate that process,” Cornelius said.
Funding for that month is completely funded by Airbnb.org.
Many of the refugees came to the Fox Valley over the past decade.
World Relief is also partnering with other organizations like Multicultural Coalition to connect people with food, hygiene products, and more.
“With the tornado, this brings a whole new set of needs and trauma that maybe is not their first round. So, it’s been a really difficult time for those refugee families,” Cornelius said.
The Menasha Police Department has also been doing what it can to communicate with the city’s non-English speaking population.
It’s been relying on local partners like the Menasha Joint School District and Multicultural Coalition to get important messages out.
“The important thing is that to get them the same information that everyone else has, just because you don’t speak English as your first language doesn’t mean you don’t have the same needs,” Menasha Police Chief Matthew Albrecht said.
Albrecht said communication has been a challenge because of changing information and internet connectivity.
This meant translating paper documents to other languages so everyone could get the help they need.
“Getting partners who could translate the information and get it out as fast as possible was key into trying to have some success,” Albrecht said.
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