Serving with Heart & Hands

Neighborhood Resource Centers offer practical, emotional support

In the immediate aftermath of the storm, one of the most obvious needs that arose was trying to get important life-safety information, food, water, and access to professional legal and counseling services to residents — all while under widespread loss of electricity, internet, and cellular phone service.

With communication grids down, the City developed new ways to reach residents. Staff from the Community Development Department quickly worked to secure tents, tables, generators, staple food, and hotspots; and opened five Neighborhood Resource Centers across the community on Monday, August 17. The resource centers were located at the Ladd Library, Northwest Recreation Center, St. Paul’s Methodist Church, Metro High School, and Taylor Elementary School. Staffed primarily by city employees representing a variety of departments, these centers created hubs of resources fully stocked — ice, food, water — and connections with all the non-profits who had galvanized in response to the storm’s damage. Residents could also pick up a print informational flyer (updated daily) with information on where to find city services, housing assistance, City department phone numbers, the status of debris removal, and more. The flyers were translated into French, Spanish, Swahili, and Kirundi.

“The goal of the resource centers was to serve as hubs of easy access to the community,” said Assistant Director of Community Development Bill Micheel. “Not only could people come and hear critical updates on city services, but they also had access to a family of nonprofits working under one umbrella effort in five locations across the community.”

Residents could pick up basic supplies, talk with a trained crisis counselor, or speak with a representative from Iowa Legal Aid who was able to help answer questions on insurance or tenant rights issues. Community partners helped staff the centers, open from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. daily. These sites were also coordinated with other food relief efforts, such as Operation BBQ Relief — serving hot lunch and dinner starting the first weekend after the storm — or HACAP’s shelfstable food to help fill pantries. The centers ran with the help of the Parks and Recreation Department, which coordinated the bulk delivery of goods to these sites daily, in addition to bringing back-to-school supplies to these locations to be distributed to families.

The resource centers closed down on August 31 as electric power was restored throughout the community. Many services were transferred to the Iowa Department of Human Services, ensuring that access to resources was not interrupted.

It was really inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors.

“It was really inspiring to see neighbors helping neighbors,” said Jeff Wozencraft, a planner in the Community Development Department who helped staff the resource centers. “Reactions from people ran the gamut from those still internalizing what had just happened, to those who were extremely grateful for the help.”

Spontaneous Volunteers

Contributions of spontaneous volunteers at the five Neighborhood Resource Centers played an important role in the city’s storm response and recovery efforts. Volunteers arrived from near and far, many were neighborhood residents or from nearby communities like Iowa City. Other volunteers arrived from cities several hours away including Des Moines, Sioux City, and communities in Illinois. Some came from as far as New York and Arizona.

Daily, spontaneous volunteers helped unload trucks or hand out meals and ice at resource centers. Some also worked in neighborhoods assisting with debris cleanup, putting tarps on roofs, distributing supplies, conducting well-checks, or performing chainsaw work. The hundreds of volunteers enabled the resource centers to operate more efficiently and significantly contributed to the overall storm recovery process.

To assist when park clean-up projects are available, email parks@cedar-rapids.org.

Thank you to the following community partners who supported the Neighborhood Resource Centers:

Abbe Center

Alliant Energy

American Red Cross

ASAC

Cedar Rapids Public Library

Cedar River Academy at Taylor Elementary

Cedar Rapids Bank and Trust

Eastern Iowa Health Center / Diaper Bank

Feed Iowa First

Foundation 2

HACAP

Hy-Vee

Iowa Derecho Storm Resource Page Facebook group

Iowa DHS

Iowa Legal Aid

Iowa Pork Producers Association

League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC)

Matthew 25

Mercy Chefs

Metro High School

MidAmerican Energy

Operation BBQ Relief

Salvation Army

St. Paul’s UMC staff

United Way

United We March Forward

YPN

Various local businesses and residents