Published: September 09, 2008 10:55 pm         

Group taps leaders for flood recovery efforts

Coalition picks director, case management coordinator to help flood victims

TERRE HAUTE — A five-county coalition has hired a director and case management coordinator to spearhead a recovery effort for people still in need after June floods that resulted in 40 Indiana counties being declared national disaster areas.

Jenn Kersey of Clinton has been named director of the Wabash Valley Long-Term Disaster Recovery Coalition, while Beth Gaither of Terre Haute will serve as the case management coordinator. The two contract positions are effective Sept. 15 and carry no benefits, paying $60,000 and $40,000 respectively, said Troy Fears, executive director of the United Way of the Wabash Valley.

More than 20 total applicants applied for the positions, Fears said.

The United Way is paying for the positions after being approved for a grant as part of a $45 million donation to the United Way of Indiana from Eli Lilly & Co. to help Hoosier victims of the June floods.

Kersey earned bachelor’s degrees from Purdue University (2002) and Indiana State University (2004). She has worked the past four years in pharmaceutical sales.

Gaither is the former project director of Upward Bound at ISU, a federally funded academic enrichment program for at-risk youth. She is a 1984 graduate of ISU.

The two were introduced to the coalition Tuesday in Maryland Community Church. The coalition also has new officers, replacing two interim directors. Vince McFarland, senior pastor of the church, is chairman; Dan Willis, senior pastor at Hulman Street Wesleyan Church is vice chairman; and Michelle Swiger, executive director of Vigo County Lifeline, is secretary. The coalition serves Vigo, Vermillion, Clay, Sullivan and Parke counties.

Starting Sept. 22 and extending through Oct. 2, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee will provide 18 volunteers who will conduct a needs assessment of people who have applied for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or American Red Cross to determine any unmet needs, Kersey said.

The volunteers will wear green shirts and identification when conducting door-to-door surveys, she said.

“We are working to get a walk-in and a call-in site, something we do not have yet. There will be one site in Terre Haute the entire time and we are hoping we can get other locations in other counties for part of that time,” Kersey said.

“We will look at what [the survey provides] and determine where we will start first, get volunteers and get the job rolling to put homes back together. We want to rebuild and get families back together,” Kersey said.

Gaither has personal experience as a flood victim. Her rental home on South 11th Street was filled with more than 31⁄2 feet of water. The home is being demolished. “I moved to higher ground, an apartment on the second floor. It was a tremendous change, because I am a gardener. Life without a yard … it is a total life change.

“I really feel that experience will help me help others. I have stood in other people’s shoes and know what they are going through,” Gaither said.

Honnalora Hubbard, who is volunteer coordinator for construction and construction donation for the coalition, also is a flood victim. She is on loan to the coalition from the Terre Haute Ministries Inc. where she is executive director. Terre Haute Ministries in August received a $50,000 grant from Presbytery of Ohio Valley to hire an executive director.

Hubbard said faith-based organizations can be additional funding sources for the coalition, such as the coalition’s first grant, for $5,000, which came from United Methodist Committee on Relief. Hubbard said after it has been determined how many homes are in need of repair, she will seek donated building materials and organize volunteers.

“We will do estimates on homes. If a home has $25,000 worth of work and [the homeowner] received $15,000 from FEMA, then we have a $10,000 deficit we need to cover. We will cover that with volunteer hours, donations and/or by writing grants. We will have to pull in all our resources from all different directions,” Hubbard said.

Hubbard said she is in the process of having her home, which has been flooded twice, placed into FEMA’s home buyout program, which could take up to two years and would require her family to relocate. “I have taken on this responsibility and my family is still living in a rental property. For the time that I am working on rebuilding everyone else’s home, I will still be waiting to find out about mine,” she said.

“But from a ministry background, I firmly believe that what I make happen for others, the Lord will make happen for me,” Hubbard said.

Howard Greninger can be reached at (812) 231-4204 or howard.greninger@tribstar.com