By Katie Patrick
Neighbors helping neighbors.
Over the past few weeks, this phrase has been heard frequently alongside victims and state leaders alike, as they talked about the largest wildfire in our state’s history. More than 800,000 acres burned in the Nebraska wildfires, affecting fields and displacing cattle at all stages of operations— disrupting herd management, altering breeding and nutritional patterns, rotational grazing and much more.
Yet, it seems that at every stage, help came from neighbors—whether those in close proximity to the fires, whose land was spared, or those in neighboring states who stepped up to help. This is what Nebraska is all about—resilience and compassion.
Scrolling on Facebook, I saw one individual write, “One thing I know for certain in Nebraska is when neighbors are in trouble or hurting we step up and take care of one another.”
From all that I have heard and seen over the past few weeks, this couldn’t be more true. Bill Sullivan, store manager at CSS’ St. Isidore Gift & Thrift in Imperial, shared with me that convoys of semis, trailers and trucks have been hauling in hundreds of donated hay bales from all over, to try to alleviate this tragedy. Momma cows are having little ones right now and need extra nutrition. It’s a critical time for so many things in the cattle industry. The feed being hauled in is a bandage, but for those doing the giving, it’s huge as well.
In my previous Southern Nebraska Register article, published March 27, I said: “The family—the first, most enduring, and most effective source of support.” I introduced and referenced “Rethinking Charity: Restoring Dignity to Poverty Relief,” by Ismael Hernandez. It’s a book that many of us at Catholic Social Services have read and discussed. Hernandez emphasizes that in addition to meeting basic needs, the family is best positioned to counsel, instruct, admonish, comfort, and forgive a struggling family member. If not the family, then neighbors and the local community are the next source of support—often the difference between stability and crisis. This is because neighbors and the local community are in close proximity, able to respond quickly, and invested in the dignity and long-term well-being of those around them.
Similar to neighbors helping neighbors during the wildfires, another recent example that comes to mind is the Hastings faith community’s response to the government shutdown in November 2025.
Hundreds of volunteers from many local church communities mobilized quickly and organized daily soup suppers to feed those facing reduced access to food. As of 2023, more than 2,500 individuals living in Adams County receive SNAP benefits, and all were welcome to a warm meal each day for the duration of the shutdown—and even continued for a few days afterward.
There is real goodness in these acts of charity. We are first called to care for our families—but we are also called to respond to the urgent needs of our neighbors, especially in times of crisis. As people created for communion, what better way to embrace that call than by caring for those around us. This means that you and I have the opportunity to be generous each day in simple, meaningful ways. When families cannot meet every need, it is neighbors who step in—quietly, generously, and often without recognition. That is what we have witnessed across Nebraska. And it is what we are called to continue.
As part of this three-part series, I’ll share next week about what happens when family, neighbors, and local communities are not an option.
For now, thank you to everyone in the Hastings community who responded during the government shutdown by feeding the hungry. My prayers continue to be with all of the families and businesses facing hardship and uncertainty as a result of the wildfires in March. May God bless you and keep you!
