there. >> reporter: if someone had been hiding in this closet, that wouldn't have been safe either? >> no, no. went straight through. >> reporter: oh, look, it came all the way through. >> uh-huh. >> reporter: his family survived huddled and praying on the hallway floor. three next door neighbors survived. a google street view of brown street shows a wooded neighborhood full of life. this is a it looks like now. after everything that's happened, what made you decide to come back? >> this is home. >> reporter: and like so many hit by this tornado, brown is getting help from volunteers, offering food, sweat and comfort. brown tells me he's learned something and wants to tell the people of joplin, don't turn down help and don't give up. >> if you can't go anywhere, you can always go home. >> reporter: would have have been easier for you just to pack it in, say, i'm not going back, start over somewhere? >> yeah, it would have been a whole lot easier. it definitely would have been a whole lot easier, but i won't