Flood Of Hope (Administered by Independent Child Advocate Services - ICAS)

Site is down - no evidence of activity for this organzation - LTel 6/26/10

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Flood of Hope© is a grassroots collaboration between small communities, elected officials and government entities, agency partners, and volunteer organizations. Flood of Hope© is administered by Independent Child Advocate Services (ICAS), and includes partnerships between the Iowa Federation of Families for Children’s Mental Health (IFFCMH), Area Substance Abuse Council (ASAC), Windsor Manor, the City of Vinton, Benton County, Iowa Representative Dawn Pettengill, private businesses, community volunteers, and volunteer organizations such as Hands On Disaster Services. The work accomplished through Flood of Hope© has become a critical thread in the necessary fabric of recovery. Flood of Hope© information is updated regularly at www.floodofhope.com.

To date, Flood of Hope© has established a semi-permanent crisis center in the south building of ICAS, located at 905 D Avenue in Vinton, IA. Anyone who needs help, can contact ICAS at (319) 472-4501. ICAS prioritizes meeting the needs of families in rural areas, children’s mental and behavioral health problems, and families who are experiencing a crisis. Families directly affected by the flood can request to speak with a flood relief volunteer. Flood of Hope© is operated entirely by volunteers due to limited financial resources; however, we are working very hard to bring additional human resources such as volunteer labor into the community to assist with recovery. Through case management and fundraising efforts, Flood of Hope© will eventually be able to assist in more monetary ways. Monetary assistance will depend entirely on the results of fundraising opportunities and cash donations.

The IFFCMH outreach office is also located in the south building. IFFCMH is able to assist with advocacy, especially for meeting the mental health needs of young people and their families. As the trauma of the disaster unfolds in children, this outreach link is a valuable asset available for anyone in Iowa. IFFCMH has also provided a joint opportunity for a Coe College student to complete her internship. Heidi Reynolds has been leading a substantial amount of the volunteer coordination effort and organizing much of post-disaster chaos. The partnership that IFFCMH has provided made it possible for ICAS to coordinate flood relief efforts. Without this partnership, the efforts would not have been as effective.

ASAC has partnered by allowing local staff to assist with crisis counseling and to help with the social marketing aspects of Flood of Hope©. Amber Snider has committed herself to organizing benefit events, such as a silent auction, a benefit concert, and a golf tournament to raise funds for the flood relief efforts. Please contact ICAS at (319) 472-4501 and request to work with Amber if you have skills or time to help organize these or other events.

Habitat for Humanity is examining their current programs and looking at ways to help low-income families build or re-build their homes. More information will provided when details become available.

Benton County Board of Supervisors have worked with ICAS to relocate the sheriff’s office, the county social services office, the Department of Transportation office, and the food pantry to the ICAS facility, and are now located in the north building. ICAS will additionally provide outreach space to agencies that traditionally met with consumers in the county’s social services office. Vocational Rehab will begin meeting with their consumers at ICAS.

CURRENT NEEDS IN THE COMMUNITY

§ Food, cleaning supplies, paper products, or gift cards are appreciated most and can be dropped off during normal operating hours without an appointment. Food is a high need. We have enough food for about three days of distribution. Food can also be donated to the Benton County Food Pantry. Food for flood victims is being kept separate from the regular food pantry for tracking purposes.

§ Please do not bring donations of furniture, appliances, household items or decorations without calling ahead and assessing our need for them. Many people are still in very temporary housing situations, such as living with relatives or friends, and they have no place to put these items. ICAS is out of storage space and will have to start throwing things away due to limited storage capacity. We prefer that you hang onto them until they are needed, or take them to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. As families figure out where they will be living, we will be able to accommodate these types of donations, but this will take some time.

§ Tools are needed: claw hammers, saws of all kinds, crowbars, reversible drills, and building tools are among the list of needed items. We are asking that power tools be new due to liability risks. We are considering a lending “library” of tools so that volunteer organizations have a variety of tools to work with when they come.

§ Supplies for rebuilding are needed. We need a substantial amount of supply resources. These can be in terms of gift cards to local vendors, or in-kind donations of common building materials. No one comes out ahead with recovering from a flooding disaster. FEMA and Red Cross do not even come close to meeting the costs of all that is lost. Many times, homeowners end up having to pay to have their home demolished, and then have to continue paying mortgage for a house they no longer have in addition to paying for a new home. The buy out process can take a year or more, and people struggle to purchase materials. Donations of supplies will be used to repair homes that are salvageable, or to help repair infrastructure (such as the North Benton Ambulance garage). No supplies will be used on a home that is at risk of being demolished. Once repairs are made, supplies will be provided to Habitat for Humanity to assist with the building of new homes in the area.

§ Volunteers are encouraged to continue helping Flood of Hope©. Volunteers who can make phone calls and help assess families’ needs are needed at ICAS. Teams of volunteers who can help families clean out their homes, sort through their belongings, and help gut or repair homes are needed. It works best to have a “leader” organize a group of volunteers and provide ICAS with 3 or more days advanced notice that your team is coming and to inform ICAS on what your team is willing to do. Vinton is a small town, so working out logistics is challenging and we need time to accommodate space, food, and sleeping arrangements. Groups that can be self-sufficient are greatly appreciated due to the lack of resources in Vinton (such as hotels or sleeping/showering accommodations). We are also helping families in other rural communities, so if you have a team interested in working in other areas, please allow 5 or more days for us to work out logistics.

ICAS is helping Hands On by interviewing and prioritizing families that need help. If you know a family who can benefit from this resource, encourage them to register with ICAS if they have not done so. ICAS is also working with families to do case management so those with the fewest resources and highest risk factors (such as elderly, disabled, single parent, etc.) of not getting enough help are prioritized. Family members do not need to reside within Benton County to ask for help; however, at this time Benton County residents are still being given priority for flood assistance. ICAS will do its best meet the needs of any Iowan resident, as it always has.

Please check the Flood of Hope© website, www.floodofhope.com, for updated information.