{"id":56711,"date":"2014-07-06T18:00:18","date_gmt":"2014-07-06T22:00:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=56711"},"modified":"2014-07-06T10:14:48","modified_gmt":"2014-07-06T14:14:48","slug":"some-assistance-may-be-available-for-last-years-flood-victims","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/?p=56711","title":{"rendered":"Some Assistance May Be Available for Last Year\u2019s Flood Victims"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"United<\/a><\/p>\n

(Utica, NY \u2013 July 2014) It has been one year since the 2013 Floods occurred in the communities of Herkimer and Oneida Counties. More than 3,000 residents experienced severe damages to their homes and properties. FEMA did not award any individual assistance for recovery. Governor Cuomo did however, sent up individual assistance with applications to the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services.<\/p>\n

Some of the residents had insurance that covered their damages, most did not. Many property owners applied to and received state funding assistance, while many did not. Some residents totally missed the opportunity to apply for assistance. As the ground froze, then thawed with the changing seasons, new issues emerged.<\/p>\n

The good news is that there may still be some assistance available. 100 percent of the 2013 Flood Recovery Funds raised by (WKTV, Roser Communications, and United Way Telethon) are not completely diminished. The Herkimer Oneida Organizations Active in Disaster (HOOAD) has a Long Term Recovery Group that is still awarding funds to residents.<\/p>\n

As an organized group of disaster volunteers, HOOAD was asked to assist in the allocations process of the telethon funding. Fifty percent, close to $90,000, of the funding went to the first responder agencies: American Red Cross and Salvation Army for immediate flood recovery needs. The remaining 50 percent went Catholic Charities of Herkimer and Catholic Charities of Oneida Madison.<\/p>\n

The HOOAD Long Term Recovery Group has assisted Catholic Charities in establishing the role of Disaster Case Managers and setting up a procedure for cases to be reviewed by an Unmet Needs Committee. Such a procedure had not previously existed in our community. To date, more than 100 cases have been opened, ranging in need, and more than $52,000 has already been invested back into the homes in Herkimer and Oneida Counties.<\/p>\n

As of May 31, 2014, Catholic Charities of Herkimer County received $74,841 from the flood telethon funds and 25 Herkimer County households have been served. $32,930 of the flood funds were invested in foundation repairs, drainage systems, hot water heaters, dehumidifiers, appliances and furniture.<\/p>\n

Catholic Charities of Oneida Madison Counties received $32,074 from the flood telethon funds. They have invested $19,232 thus far on 12 households for foundations, basement walls, boilers, furnaces, heaters, appliances and electrical systems.<\/p>\n

Some homeowners who applied for assistance have reported challenges in obtaining three comparable bids from contractors, for flood related repairs. This is a necessary step in preventing fraud and price gouging during times of disaster.<\/p>\n

If you are a 2013 Flood resident from Herkimer or Oneida County that exhausted all funds received or did not receive or apply for funds and still have long term recovery needs, you can contact the Disaster Case Managers at Catholic Charities.<\/p>\n

Contact: Brandon Ronca at 518-441-2435 if you reside in Herkimer County<\/p>\n

Jane Wenham at 315-527-3671 if you reside in Oneida County<\/p>\n

Background on HOOAD:<\/p>\n

In 2012, a Herkimer-Oneida Community Planning Group held a special meeting to discuss the community\u2019s needs in the event of a disaster. Perspective was shared by local county emergency management, state agencies and FEMA on all aspects of how to help ourselves, our neighbors, clients, and community members in the best, most efficient ways possible. This beginning dialogue launched a more proactive movement very quickly.<\/p>\n

It was not long before the committee elected officers, produced bylaws and membership grew to 33 agencies, government departments, faith-based organizations, businesses, and state and federal representatives. They called themselves Herkimer \u2013 Oneida Organizations Active in Disaster or (HOOAD).<\/p>\n

Modeled after Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD), HOOAD strives to provide training to members, volunteers, and the community in awareness and preparedness, volunteer leadership development, and support to the community during disasters \u2013 working together to maximize efforts and resources. It is a humanitarian association of independent organizations who may be active in any or all phases of disaster including preparedness, response, recovery, and mitigation. HOOAD quickly became a regional counterpart to the New York State Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NYSVOAD) and a partner with the National VOAD.<\/p>\n

Little did the membership know that the communities in Herkimer and Oneida Counties would experience extreme flooding in the summer of 2013. The news of damage to homes affected came immediately. HOOAD members began emergency conference calls twice a week and the formation of a HOOAD Long Term Recovery Group came to fruition. United Way VGU played an integral role in pulling this group together. HOOAD made the recommendations to United Way on how the 2013 Flood Recovery Funds should be invested back into the community.<\/p>\n

HOOAD has also established an Unmet Needs Committee that reviews long term flood case needs, based on applications received and cases presented by the Disaster Case Managers twice per month. There will be additional volunteers coming to the area to work on large structural projects this summer.<\/p>\n

HOOAD is always accepting new members. There is a particular need for businesses to join the efforts! If you would like more information, contact Scott McCumber, HOOAD Chair at (315) 223-3973.<\/p>\n

About United Way United Way of the Valley & the Greater Utica Area is a local, independent non-profit organization funding area programs and services, providing a safety net for our community and addressing crucial community issues in the impact areas of health, education, and income. For more information about HOOAD or United Way, contact Jordan Heath at Jordanh@unitedwaygu.org or (315) 733-4691 x. 224.<\/p>\n

Look for a special guest column in the Opinion Section of the Observer-Dispatch on June 29th. The article will contain the challenges of a 2013 flood victim and how recovery occurred with the assistance of a Catholic Charities Disaster Case Manager and HOOAD\u2019s Long Term Recovery Group.<\/p>\n

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(Utica, NY \u2013 July 2014) It has been one year since the 2013 Floods occurred in the communities of Herkimer and Oneida Counties. More than 3,000 residents experienced severe damages to their homes and properties. FEMA did not award any individual assistance for recovery. Governor Cuomo did however, sent up individual assistance with applications to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56711","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56711","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=56711"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56711\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=56711"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=56711"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/madisoncountycourier.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=56711"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}