IN THEIR OWN WORDS
Click an Image to See Their Story
Zsuzsa Gyenes
Since April 2023, Zsuzsa Gyenes and her son have lived in a hotel in Cranberry Township.
For the two months following the East Palestine train derailment, she lived in multiple hotels because pollution seemed to follow her wherever she landed.
She left from a Chippewa Township hotel because it was too close to the toxic train’s chemical release.
Then, days later, she left a Center Township hotel because Shell’s ethane cracker plant malfunctioned, which resulted in a flaring event that could be seen from 25+ miles away.
Now, a year later, everywhere she turns she receives different answers. Zsuzsa simply wants to return to normalcy, which includes living in her East Palestine home without her and her son experiencing derailment-caused illness.
“We were getting turned down and felt like there was nowhere to turn to. People were getting sick or experiencing symptoms, my son keeps getting this rash on his face that he's never had before the derailment. It can't be explained by anything else right now. How do you just live with that?”
“Federal Poison Control told me that our symptoms, my son and I symptoms, match an allergic reaction to a chemical irritant.”
Hilary Flint
Hilary Flint’s cancer diagnosis took her on a journey to become an environmental and public health advocate.
She lives in Enon Valley, just across the Ohio–Pennsylvania border, and a few miles from the East Palestine train derailment.
When the derailment took place, she felt the effects right away — her home reeked of chemicals and she and her grandmother felt ill.
As the vice president of the Unity Council, Hilary’s fighting not only for her own health but for the health and safety of all of those affected by the Norfolk Southern train derailment.
“It’s a lot more than just the train derailment. How do we protect people from petrochemical disasters in general?”
“A lot of people have asked me, ‘How does the EPA rebuild trust?’ Indoor air testing. It’s as simple as that.”
Daren & Stella Gamble
Daren and Stella Gamble thought they’d retire in East Palestine, Ohio.
Their house has been in Daren’s family for years.
But after the train derailment in February 2022, the couple was forced to move out of their beloved home to a town many miles away.
Everytime Stella visits EP, she gets unbearably sick.
They currently live in an Airbnb and aren’t sure what their future holds.
“We’ve lost our home; we can’t go back to our home. So now, our goal is to figure out how we can not only start over for ourselves, but for our families, too.”
“It was our safe place and it’s not anymore.”
Chase Kinder
Chase Kinder built his home with his father 30 years ago on the outskirts of East Palestine, Ohio.
He has two bachelor degrees, one in chemistry and another in physics, as well as a master’s degree in education.
Following the derailment, ⅓ of his sheep herd fell over dead, and he and his family have experienced physical illness since February.
The memories he made at home are irreplaceable, but he still feels guilty for leaving; not just because he’ll be losing his home, but because so many people in East Palestine lack the resources to move away.
“Now, I gotta leave that, and that bothers me a lot. A lot more than I’ll ever be able to tell somebody. That really messes me up. There’s nothing you can ever do about that.”
“And the railroad will never care.”
Candice DeSanzo
Candice Desanzo thought East Palestine would be her forever home.
The mother of five lives in her childhood home along with her children, two dogs and a cat.
Her children were always healthy — trips to the pediatrician were rare.
But that all changed on February 3 when a Norfolk Southern train derailed less than a mile from her home and spilled vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals.
Since then, her children are perpetually sick. Candice continues to fight and wait for answers.
“If I turn a blind eye to what is going on here, I fail my children.”
"Test my kids, test my home. And I'm sure that every other resident wants the same thing. People are just afraid to speak out. Because then you're blackballed in this town, you're an asshole. If you're sick, you're lying."
Rob Two-Hawks
Rob Two-Hawks is a life-long resident of East Palestine and an avid gardener.
He also has a heart condition that has caused him issues over the years.
But two days after the East Palestine train derailment in February 2023, Rob’s heart failure escalated quickly.
Within two days, he went from walking downtown multiple times per week to being stopped in his tracks one-block from his house, unable to catch his breath.
As a person who has complex PTSD from a situation in his teenage years, Rob says the various traumas he’s faced have equipped him for the aftermath of the train derailment, which he says is a community trauma.
“Has this been traumatic? I can say, ‘Yeah, from all my experience. I’ve got everything under my belt to deal with it, except for, I’m older; I’m beat up."
“When we begin after trauma, after a cycle of abuse or even one serious abuse — we’re victims. But if we keep going down that highway and take a look at ourselves and stretch and grow and process the emotional intensity that we went through as a key, we’ll turn it into gold. Something will come from it."
Tamara Freeze
Tamara Freeze remembers the chilly night the train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, which was less than a half-mile from her home.
Before the derailment, she never envisioned becoming an advocate. In fact, she said she considered herself a wallflower for most of her life.
Since the 2023 derailment, she’s become an advocate for not only her own health but for the health and safety of all those affected by the derailment.
She’s active with the Unity Council and says she’s learned to become an outspoken activist, a title she never would’ve identified with prior to February 3.
“Just learning how to speak out, learning how to write letters and emails and do interviews, and use my voice for something that we need. I feel like I have more of the strength that I didn’t know that I needed to have. "
"I was thinking, should I go into social work? What should I do next? Maybe this is the right opportunity for me to branch out and do something new.”
Misti Allison
Misti Allison and her family moved to East Palestine to be closer to family.
Although she’s been dedicated to her town for years, since the train derailment, she’s doing all she can to ensure her community is a safe, thriving place to raise a family.
Misti noticed how divided the community became after months of inconsistent answers. She ran for East Palestine mayor in the most recent election with the hope of uniting people.
Although Misti narrowly lost the election, she is still actively working to help find solutions to people’s needs. She works closely with The Way Station to do just that.
“My main focus on my campaign was I really wanted to positively influence the future of the community and to bring everybody together. I think communication and transparency goes a long way."
“I’m here for the long haul and making sure that health is a priority in town.”
Chaney Nezbeth
Chaney Nezbeth is the Executive Director of The Way Station in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Way Station gives people the tools that they need to get themselves out of poverty, while also providing assistance with basic necessities such as clothes, food, diapers, hygiene items, and more.
In the aftermath of the train derailment, Chaney and her team gave away thousands of clothing items, food, water, and more.
The Way Station filled a tremendous need in the community in the first weeks and months following the derailment. Chaney and her team work to assess and continue to providing necessities and resources for those who need them.
“If I'm in a position to meet needs, I want to meet those needs.
“We definitely feel like as a community as a whole, one of the gaps that’s already evident is the mental health piece here, the trauma that has been experienced through this. The families that are being broken up because of this.”
Jami
Wallace
Jami Wallace, a life-long East Palestine resident, had nearly 50 family members living within a 1-mile radius.
That was before the derailment. Now, her family members are displaced, including her mom and step-dad.
Jami Wallace, started the Unity Council and is currently its president.
“When you talk about the things Norfolk Southern has taken,” Jami said through tears, “they took away my family.”
"Sometimes I'm cooking dinner with my phone on speakers stuffed in my bra. I know that sounds horrible. But I usually walk around like that all day because I'm on meetings but I'm doing dishes I'm brushing (my daughter's) hair, and sometimes I just don't sleep."
