Tornado recovery group learns details about funding

May 02--More than two weeks after an EF-2 tornado hit Lauderdale County, a group tasked with handling the long-term recovery met for the first time Tuesday.

Volunteer agencies from the Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) will have all pulled out of Lauderdale County by Tuesday afternoon, according to Hubert Yates, the board president of VOAD.

More than 200 individual volunteers met roughly 80 percent of the 250 work orders submitted by city and county residents for assistance, ranging from debris removal to placing tarps on roofs. Yates said he hoped to have final numbers Wednesday.

But as these agencies leave, the onus of the recovery effort transfers to a community-based recovery committee, which will be responsible for managing funds associated with disaster relief.

The Mississippi Emergency Management Agency will distribute up to $250,000 in $50,000 installments to this group, which doesn't yet have a formal name.

"The response phase and the rescue phase is really chaotic and everyone is trying to help," explained Mellie Jordan, who has assisted in the formation of other recovery committees. "This phase is when people stop and think about how they can best help their community."

The group of 25, who won't all serve on the final committee, was made up of representatives from local banks, churches and former elected officials.

They met at Union Station in Meridian Tuesday to learn more about community-based recovery committees from MEMA representatives.

MEMA distributed copies of bylaws from similar committees formed in other counties, such as a Winston County-based committee which formed after the 2014 tornado hit Louisville.

Jordan works as the disaster response manager for the United Methodist Church -- Mississippi Conference whose Committee on Relief assisted with cleanup and recovery work in Lauderdale.

Jordan stressed the importance of the role of the committee, who would be responsible for distibuting money to needy Lauderdale County residents.

"The most important person in a disaster is the person who has been affected," Jordan said. "So committees should focus on keeping the people they're serving first."

To truly function, Jordan emphasized the need to be locally staffed and community based.

"Every disaster is different, just like every community is different," Jordan said. "We're outsiders. They know what's best for their community."

The committee will have a few subcommittees, such as a volunteer management committee, a disaster case management committee, an executive committee and a construction or contractor committee.

A case manager, which Jordan said her organization could oversee, will present a homeowner's case before the case management committee after receiving quotes on construction, while volunteers would assist with most of the work.

Jordan explained that bylaws could determine whether an applicant had to exhaust other options for funding, such as possible insurance payout, low-interest loans from the Small Business Administration or available federal funding, before approaching the committee.

Homes that submitted work orders could be distributed to the committee as suggestions for assistance.

The funding from MEMA only covers building supplies and thus the committee will need to establish another way to pay contractors, electricians, plumbers, appliances, etc.

To fill this gap, the Wesley House has opened a second account, dependent on local funding, open at Citizen's National Bank.

"We did this to assist the community in rebuilding," David Schultz, the executive director of the Wesley House, said. "There's a number of other unmet needs. They'll have the community volunteers and building supplies but what about contractors? What about a refrigerator?"

The committee will still determine how to distribute the funding. Those interested in donating to tornado relief efforts can donate to the Wesley House fund at Citizen's National Bank or at the Wesley House.

The Wesley House has opted to serve as the organization handling that alternative funding, with an account at Citizen's National open currently.

Justin Branstetter, who was named to the group by the Lauderdale County Board of Supervisors, took diligent notes throughout the meeting to prepare for his role on the committee. He said that being a part of the case management committee might line up the most closely to his role at a bank branch in Collinsville.

"I do a lot of loans and you get a feel from a customer about what you're going to get from them," Branstetter said. "So that's something I can utilize."

Branstetter said he wanted clarification on the full scope of the committee, but is proud to have the opportunity to serve his community.

"I think the main part we've got to do is getting the subcommittees formed, outline duties for each committee and rope it all together," Branstetter said. "But this isn't going to be a one-and-done committee. It's something that we can build on for the future."

At the group's next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, May 8 at 1 p.m. at Union Station, the committee will finalize its members, view a slideshow presentation from Yates and begin the process for selecting a name, chair and secretary.

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