Two new grants—one for case management in Gaylord following the May 20 tornado, and a second for restoration work in Detroit after last summer’s catastrophic flooding, hope to strengthen ongoing disaster recovery efforts here in Michigan.
The Otsego Community Foundation has granted $50,000 to Michigan Disaster Response and Recovery (MiDRR), the newly created nonprofit birthed out of The Michigan Conference. These funds will employ two disaster case managers to provide Gaylord residents long-term recovery support for six months.
Disaster case managers serve as a primary point of contact, helping individuals and families navigate the complicated process of applying for assistance and managing all the practical and financial aspects of life after such a loss. These individuals seek to be a positive, calm presence as clients work toward reestablishing normalcy. And this doesn’t happen overnight. In fact, based on estimates, it could be up to year for full recovery.
Separately, the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) has approved an $800,000 grant to The Michigan Conference for direct assistance to individuals with unmet needs in Detroit. The conference will administer this funding in collaboration with MiDRR disaster case management. This is the largest single grant the conference has received from UMCOR to date.
Your gifts on UMCOR Sunday helps support the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere.
The Michigan Conference reacted quickly once the EF3 tornado left an almost 17-mile path of destruction through the community of Gaylord, damaging and leveling homes and businesses. The storm took two lives and injured 44.
Downstate, good news came in the form of an $800,000 grant from UMCOR for direct assistance to those still building back from last year’s flood in Detroit that filled basements, damaging homes and destroying personal belongings.
The case managers currently working in the area, along with others to be soon hired, will have this money available to them as they assist clients in fulfilling a recovery plan that’s customized to their needs. If financial assistance from FEMA or other local sources is no longer possible, case managers can utilize this grant money from UMCOR to help individuals and families continue to put their lives back together.
This UMCOR grant is separate from a recent FEMA-funded Disaster Case Management Program (DCMP) grant for $15 million to pay for staffing, including disaster case managers, construction analysts, and resource coordinators working in Detroit. The DCMP grant was given to the State of Michigan, but MiDRR is named as the provider.
“We have been very blessed by UMCOR in the last several years. They have been very supportive of Michigan and the disasters that have happened here, starting with some flooding in Midland back in 2017 and multiple things since then,” Money said.
excerpt from a story by Janes Deaton, Content Editor, Michigan Annual Conference
One of six churchwide Special Sundays with offerings of The United Methodist Church, UMCOR Sunday calls United Methodists to share the goodness of life with those who hurt. Your gifts to UMCOR Sunday lay the foundation for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) to share God’s love with communities everywhere. The special offering underwrites UMCOR’s “costs of doing business.” This helps UMCOR to keep the promise that 100 percent of any gift to a specific UMCOR project will go toward that project, not administrative costs.
When you give generously on UMCOR Sunday, you make a difference in the lives of people who hurt. Give now.
