Dozen families show up at fire-assistance ‘one-stop shop’

March 13--It was a trial run Sunday at the Kansas State Fairgrounds.

The American Red Cross opened a multi-agency resource center in response to last week's wildfires. The center, with nearly a dozen agencies represented, was open from 1 to 6 p.m., and more than a dozen families showed up to register for assistance.

Trained caseworkers helped people create a one-stop shop for personal recovery plans, navigate paperwork and locate assistance for their specific needs such as housing information, groceries, clothing, medicine, household items to clean up and even apply for financial assistance.

"Any families affected by the wildfires are invited to talk to all the agencies at one time to prevent them from having to go from agency to agency," said Dicie Nicklaus, disaster program manger for the American Red Cross in south-central and southeast Kansas.

The same center and resources will open again on Tuesday in Ashland.

More than 12,000 families were evacuated last week from eight counties in Kansas as wildfires ravaged the state. Counties affected included Clark, Comanche, Ford, Hodgeman, Ness, Reno, Russell and Rooks.

Some people visited the multi-agency center on Sunday, Nicklaus said, but didn't register.

"They didn't want to register or want assistance," she said. "That was OK. But they got information."

From rakes and shovels to apples and snacks, the volunteers Sunday tried to provide help to people.

Pamphlets were available offering tips for those who might be suffering from post traumatic stress syndrome, detailing common reactions and discussing how the wildfires could affect family relationships.

One booth offered help with smoke alarms.

Another offered tetanus shots.

The Salvation Army and Knights of Columbus offered gift cards for the families.

The Kansas Department of Revenue offered to search for documents and check on the status of tax refunds.

"Our goal is to capture information from people who are needing some recovery assistance," said Lisa Gleason, chairwoman of the Reno County Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster. "Our goal is to help with disaster recovery and fill in the gaps where perhaps insurance covered some things but not everything. Maybe people need help in clearing debris away. We want to provide resources to the disaster recovery victims."

Tara Ghere was volunteering on Sunday, but hers was also one of the families who had been evacuated.

"I work with the health department in emergency preparedness," Ghere said. "But I am also on the Kansas Incident Management Team. I was activated at 7 a.m. on Monday morning to work in the incident command with public information. I was pushing the alerts out and realized that where I live was being evacuated.

"I called my family and told them to get your stuff and get out and go to my brother's place. We were fortunate. We had animals by themselves for a few days, but we were not affected by the fire."

Nicklaus said the evacuation areas were large and many families were affected. The Red Cross estimates more than 60 homes across the state were damaged by the fires.

"For a lot of the families, all they have left is what they left their homes with, and that may literally be the clothes on their backs," Ghere said. "These organizations have come together to help people start over -- whether they need clothes, help with debris removal or had damages to the outbuildings and homes.

"The beauty of living in a place like Hutchinson is that we are like family. We take care of each other."

Beccy Tanner: 316-268-6336, @beccytanner

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