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Flood Recovery Partners, a Federal Emergency Management Agency-funded group that provided education services and crisis counseling to flood victims, discontinues its efforts after serving more than 6,000 people during the past 15 months. Organization officials watched flood-affected communities and families make great strides in that time, but they say some people are still struggling.
The organization, a collaboration of Zumbro Valley Mental Health Center, Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center and Winona Health, sprung into action Aug. 20, 2007, and two outreach workers were assigned to each county the group served. They immediately started going door to door, assessing victims’ needs and helping them cope with the raw emotions they felt.
“What people were experiencing were normal reactions to an abnormal event,” said Heather Geerts, FRP project manager.
The emphasis was on providing emotional support, said Marcy Allen, senior outreach worker.
Outreach workers also put on programs in several local schools, including those in the Rushford-Peterson, Lewiston-Altura and Houston school districts. They visited students from first through 12th grades in Rushford-Peterson, talking about the flood and its effects and getting the children involved through an assortment of activities, including a puppet show for younger students.
The organization applied for and received a 60-day FEMA extension in September. Those needing additional services have been referred to other agencies, Allen said.
The road to recovery differs for each victim, the officials say.
“It’s over a year after the flood, and many people are still struggling with emotions,” she said.
Other victims have rebounded better. Geerts recalls one elderly Fillmore County man who was “very distraught” when they first met in October 2007. She could see a change in the man as they met over the next months.
“Each time, you could see a little less on his shoulders,” she said.
She recently ran into the man again at a community event, and he seemed transformed, she said. He talked excitedly about all the progress made on his home.
“He smiled for the first time since October,” she said.
