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United Way of Johnson County and the Disaster Relief Efforts in our Community

When more than 10 inches of rain flooded our community on June 7, 2008, United Way of Johnson County, along with several other organizations, was in the forefront of the relief efforts to help Johnson County residents begin to repair their homes and their lives.

United Way of Johnson County immediately provided direct services to survivors with items such as the Johnson County Resource Guide that was distributed daily to help those affected find vital resources to begin their recovery. United Way of Johnson County also partnered with several agencies to create much-needed services such as the Volunteer Center for Disaster Relief and the United Way Community Donation Center, among others.

Once immediate relief was under way, we knew that a long-term plan needed to be developed. In order to manage the long-term recovery efforts, United Way of Johnson County was instrumental in the creation of Johnson County Community Organizations Active in Disasters (JCCOAD), a supporting organization of United Way of Johnson County. During the recovery efforts, JCCOAD provided assistance with immediate needs, construction and case management for families who were affected by the June 2008 disasters.

Throughout the relief efforts we received several grants that were instrumental in helping us be able to serve those who needed assistance. This money was used to provide JCCOAD with the needed funding to provide direct services to those in need. United Way of Johnson County continued to oversee the long-term recovery efforts as well as acted as the fiscal agent for the grants and dispersed the grant monies as needed to serve our Johnson County clients.

JCCOAD completed their recovery efforts on December 31, 2010. In total, JCCOAD provided case management to 915 families. Construction assistance was given to 172 homes to help rebuild. Over 18,000 volunteer hours were logged in helping with the construction by both the Brethren Disaster Ministries and the other community volunteers.

Families affected by the flood also had the ability to receive reimbursement if they paid to repair their own homes before JCCOAD was able to assist them. Sixty-five households received reimbursement dollars.

Along with reconstruction, many families needed other financial assistance in replacing items lost in the flood. Seventy-three households were given assistance in replacing appliances, 89 with replacing furniture and 143 received immediate needs assistance, including help with rent, utilities and medication.

JCCOAD’s board of directors will now focus on developing disaster response plans in order to help there be plans in action in case of future disasters.

Our community has never seen a disaster of this magnitude and while we had no experience in dealing with something of this caliber, our community banned together and made things happen.

The United Way of Johnson County board and staff are grateful to those who put their day to day lives aside in order to devote their time and efforts to helping our residents recover. We are so privileged to have worked with such an amazing group of individuals and organizations who are so devoted to providing the services needed no matter the circumstances. Our community saw what needed to be done and did it; no questions on if it could be done, they simply found a way to make it happen. We know that it was because of the ability of this community to take charge that we were able to help those who were affected by the disasters. To everyone who assisted in the relief efforts, no matter the role you played, we thank you for your efforts; your desire to help those in need continues to amaze us and give us fuel to continue our efforts of serving those in need in Johnson County.