MILWAUKEE — After historic flooding hit Milwaukee's north side this weekend, Montreal Cain transformed personal heartbreak into a mission of service, spending 18 hours helping strangers recover from the devastation.
When most people were focused on protecting their own homes, Cain along with his son and team grabbed equipment and hit the streets to help those in need.
"They thought we was FEMA, we're not FEMA, we're some brothas that care," Cain said.
For nearly a full day, Cain hauled buckets, cleared clogged drains, and pumped water from flooded basements across the community.
His motivation came from a deeply personal place. After visiting his child's gravesite and finding his daughter's resting place submerged under a foot of water, Cain turned to prayer.
"I went there and it was a foot of water on her grave, and I was like, Lord you know I'm struggling right now, just keep my baby safe, and I heard God say clear as day, I'll take care of your child, go take care of my children," Cain said.
With determination, he gathered friends, and what equipment he had available, including a C-stand normally used for media production.
"I happened to have one of my C stands, and God is talking to me like 'use the C stand.' I'm like Bro this is heavy! You want me to use this?, which we use for tech and media and he said 'that's exactly what you will need,'" Cain said.
Watch: Milwaukee man turns grief into action, helps neighbors recover from historic flooding
His efforts made an immediate impact. On one block, he pumped water out of four homes. On another, he unclogged a drain, allowing water to rush away from a busy street.
Cain shared his work on social media, encouraging others to help with whatever resources they had available.
"If all of us start showing people how to do it, then the cars can get moved that was lost the night before, the firetrucks, semis can get through, we just need to drain it, so I started posting, use what you have," Cain said.
His posts went viral, with many online commenters calling him a "hero without a cape."
For Cain, who leads an organization called MERA Cares, the work was more than cleaning up after a storm—it was honoring his daughter's memory.
"I didn't know how much of an impact it had online — My favorite person is in the ground, at this point it's do what I can to make Melodie proud, and I know last night she was protecting me she was lookin down on me," Cain said.
As Cain continues his mission of compassion, his message to others remains simple: "Achieve possible cause you can, When you are feeling low, go do something high!"
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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