Volunteers Still Helping Flood Cleanup and Recovery Nearly 1 Year Later

Many people believe the flood in southeast Michigan cleared up just weeks after torrential rain fell Aug. 11, 2014.

The truth is, however, that nearly one year later, dedicated volunteers are still cleaning out basements and helping residents with long-term recovery. More people applied for FEMA assistance after the southeast Michigan flood than for any other disaster in the United States during 2014, but the recovery from the damage, mostly hidden in basements, has been slow.

“The biggest thing that amazes me is how many people still haven’t been mucked out,” said Becky Wilson, Director of Justice and Mission Engagement for the Detroit Renaissance District of the United Methodist Church, who has served as project coordinator for the Northwest Detroit Flood Recovery Project. “Basements are still covered in wet stuff.  People couldn’t get it out, so they just gave up. We’ve seen unbelievable mold.”

The record rainfall forced several inches of water in Detroit resident Aaron Dozier’s basement. However, nine months later, Dozier, who is waiting for a heart transplant, hadn’t been able to touch the damage. He contacted Michigan 2-1-1 to request cleanup. Dozier was scheduled for surgery to have a pump surgically installed in his chest, but before he would be able to return home from the hospital, the home needed to pass a health inspection.  Volunteers from Mennonite Disaster Services (MDS) removed debris and sanitized the home. After the surgery, Dozier, who has lived in the house for 50 years, was able to return to his home to rest and recuperate.

“I didn’t want to go to someone else’s house or a nursing home. They made it happen and I was elated,” Dozier said. “I couldn’t do it myself. I went in the basement and realized it hadn’t looked like that since it was built. They did a marvelous job.”

Lawrence Matthews of MDS said, “He sat in his living room and he was beaming from ear to ear.”

Long term recovery

A Southeast Michigan Flood Recovery Group has formed to lead a collaborative effort of organizations that are providing assistance to individuals and families to help make their homes safe, healthy, sanitary and secure. There are three organizations in the area providing volunteer support to clean up homes and also assisting in rebuilding efforts – All Hands Volunteers, MDS and Southern Baptist Disaster Relief.

“The overall scope of need is unknown right now, but we are working hard to identify those needs and provide resources to residents that are still in desperate need of assistance,” said Michigan Community Service Commission Executive Director Ginna Holmes, who has helped lead efforts in volunteer management. “We’ve had so many dedicated volunteers and volunteer organizations that have opened their hearts and rolled up their sleeves to make a difference.”

Matthews said MDS responds to serious cases on a daily basis. He said there are still elderly residents and people with small children that are living in houses with mold and mildew. Several organizations have worked together to make daily progress in the recovery.

“People are extremely grateful. They thought they were forgotten. We reach out and they thank us for caring,” Matthews said. “It encourages us to work and find more people that are living in situations that are not healthy.”

Cleanup and rebuild aren’t the only needs, however. Wilson discovered many residents went last winter without a furnace or hot water heater because the appliances were destroyed by the flood waters. Her goal is to not have anyone go through a second winter without heat.

“For so many people, the flood was just one of the disasters they were dealing with,” Wilson said. “Unemployment, health conditions, raising special-needs kids and then six to eight inches of water in their basement just complicated it.”

Help is on the way

To aid Detroit’s long term recovery and prepare for future disasters, MCSC recently granted funds to the AmeriCorps Community Recovery and Resilience Program. The program is the first of its kind in the nation.

American Red Cross of Detroit will use those funds to engage AmeriCorps members who will provide disaster case management. Additionally, members will improve the recovery, capacity and the reach of the Southeast Michigan Flood Recovery Group.  The AmeriCorps members will be placed at host sites at nonprofits and churches and assist with leveraging more than 3,000 volunteers who will be engaged in disaster preparedness, response, and aiding residents recover.  This model of resiliency can then be replicated in other communities in the state.

You can help

Volunteers can apply and serve with All Hands Volunteers at http://hands.org/projects/detroit-flood-rebuild/ as well as Southern Baptists at http://www.namb.net/michigan-flood/