United Way of Athens-Limestone County has played an integral role in those efforts.
After the tornadoes, the nonprofit organization took on 75 long-term recovery cases, but that doesn’t include those who were provided other services, according to United Way Executive Director Kaye Young McFarlen.
Some need quick, easy help on the front end. Others were more long term and more involved.
United Way is currently picking up more cases because people have “fallen out” of the insurance process or have become ineligible for assistance from FEMA or Small Business Administration.
McFarlen said United Way provides those individuals help finding available resources.
“Maybe they have had to go through a couple of different appeal processes either with insurance or with FEMA and now they know what they have and what they are going to need to finish their recovery,” she said.
Appeals to FEMA can range from straightforward to very complicated, she said. Some claims could have been denied due to improper identification of an individual or ownership issues. Others might consist of claims where blended or multigenerational families lived together and an individual identified themselves as a “self-appointed head-of-household” taking all the funds provided and left town.
United Way established the Long-Term Recovery Committee, which is made up of regional entities that work together to bring more resources to the table for families in need. Those resources might be volunteer labor, financial support or expertise.
McFarlen explained United Way looks at each individual family to identify their specific need and they stay with the clients as long as there are needs.
One service provided is to help clients frame a plan of action to get on their feet. The organization also provides essential household furnishings including beds, clothes chests, linens, appliances and more depending on what the individual family needs.
United Way currently has 13 open cases. Most of the cases are closed, but could reopen pending further contact.
“A lot of families have done really well with the help that they have received,” McFarlen said. “Some of them have been able to leverage their individual family assistance into a down payment on a home. They have been able to do good things.”
Some families haven’t made the best decisions, but McFarlen said United Way is mostly pleased with recovery efforts.
Trials by Fire
The tornadoes of 2011, 2012 and 2014 have been a learning experience for the organization and allowed it to continue to grow.
United Way has continuously worked to train disaster casework managers, who are paid based on the monies received from a number of different sources, including grants.
“The Steelcase Foundation has been extraordinarily generous in this community,” McFarlen said, adding the foundation had provided funds in 2011, 2012 and this year. “In 2014, we received a grant of $100,000 to help get casework management and essential needs on the ground.”
Three weeks before the April 28 tornadoes, United Way launched a virtual volunteer reception center that helped streamline spontaneous volunteer efforts. Volunteers could go online to www.unitedwayathenslimestone.com and register. The site allowed volunteers to be coordinated and deployed in places they were needed most.
Preparing for the Future
Each tornado leaves an impact, and the recent storms have left key reminders for families and organizations moving forward.
“Plan to make sure you have enough resources to cover those disasters that are considered local or regional,” she said, adding that doesn’t include a federal declaration or outside state help. “We need to make sure we are all networked together; that we combine forces to make sure we meet those needs.”
McFarlen added that current disasters have also reminded Limestone Countians to never underestimate how well faith-based communities and other organizations and businesses in the area respond to disaster.
“They are extraordinary,” she said. “Churches in impacted areas … have been extraordinary in the amount of help they provide.”
©2014 The News Courier (Athens, Ala.). Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
