Year in Review

October 2008 - October 2009

The Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition (LALTRC) was formed in July of 2008 to provide assistance
to our neighbors as they struggled to recover from the floods of 2008. The LALTRC is a story of
partnerships both new and old that were formed to re-mobilize the collective resources of these in order
to address the unmet needs of flood survivors living in disaster-impacted Linn County. Businesses,
funders, nonprofits, faith communities and local and state government have all worked side by side to
find solutions to the challenges facing us.

The mission of the Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition (LALTRC) is to:

Provide collaborative leadership in order to strengthen area-wide ongoing disaster coordination

in the affected areas. The LALTRC will share information, advocate for the most vulnerable,
simplify access to service and jointly resolve disaster-caused human recovery needs.

The Steering Committee includes representatives from United Way of East Central Iowa, Iowa Annual
Conference of the United Methodist Church, Linn County Community Services, ISU Extension, Heritage
Area Agency on Aging, FEMA, Abbe Center for Community Mental Health, the local faith community,
Hawkeye Area Community Action Program, the Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation, the City
of Cedar Rapids, the City of Palo and Salvation Army.

LALTRC worked with Christian Reformed World Relief Committee to conduct a needs assessment in
early fall 2008. 1,292 families throughout Linn County completed this needs assessment. The Coalition
learned through this process that respondents represented the following vulnerable populations:

Elderly – 18.4%
Disabled – 12.1%
Acute Medical Problems – 9.8%
Single-parent – 9.5%
Veterans –7.7%

Sixteen months later, families are still struggling to navigate a complex network of resources and
availability. Individuals who are retired, living on limited income, individuals living with disabilities, and
single parents all face unique challenges in finding sufficient resources to return their families to safe,
affordable, secure housing. Individuals living in FEMA assisted housing struggle with future housing
plans. All survivors need encouragement and guidance as they apply for resources, appeal decisions
and make plans for the future. In the most affected neighborhoods, Taylor and Time Check, average
household income is under $35,000.

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 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Where does the LALTRC receive its funding?
The LALTRC receives dollars from numerous funding sources including the Greater Cedar Rapids
Community Foundation, state Unmet Needs dollars, Federal Emergency Public Jobs dollars, and
many others. These public and private partnerships are needed to help those impacted by the
Floods of 2008.

Members of the coalition focus on these key areas: Case Advocacy, Volunteer Coordination, Spiritual
and Emotional Care, Crisis Counseling, and Rebuilding.

How has the LALTRC helped with

rebuilding?
Over $977,000 of funding has been
contributed to the community by the
coalition. 74% of these dollars have
gone to homeowners to rebuild their
homes post flood. The remaining
26% of the dollars have been used
for other projects. For example,
specialized work such as electrical
and plumbing, rental assistance, etc.

What are the number of hours

that have been contributed by
volunteers?
A volunteer’s time is just as valuable
as a financial contribution. For every
$1 contributed by donors, volunteers
contributed $5 in labor. 563,000
volunteer hours, and counting, have
been recorded to date by numerous
organizations, including the volunteer
hours of groups coordinated by the
East Central Iowa Volunteer Center.
This brings a value of nearly
$11,400,750 back into our community.

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 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS - CONTINUED
How many homes have been rebuilt through the LALTRC?
Getting people back in their homes has been the focus of the LALTRC. There are currently 343
completed construction jobs that have been worked on through the coalition. There are 156 open
jobs that are still in the process of being worked on. Just over 3/4 of the total construction jobs
need only volunteer labor to complete the job. The rest have required LALTRC funding to complete.
So far, 242 families have been able to move home as a result of coalition work.

What is Project Recovery?

Project Recovery Iowa, a disaster mental health program that provided free crisis counseling and
outreach to those affected by the natural disasters of 2008, was sponsored by The Mental Health and
Disability Services Division of the Department of Human Services and was paid for with federal
funding. In the local Linn County area these services were provided by Abbe Center for Community
Mental Health. Project Recovery Iowa was completed September 30, 2009. During the 16 months of
Project Recovery, over 6000 crisis counseling sessions were provided and over 25,000 educational
and supportive contacts were made. Counseling services for people impacted by the disasters of
2008 are still available through the Ticket To Hope voucher program. Many local counseling providers
participate in Ticket To Hope. To access this voucher program for counseling services call the Iowa
Concern Hotline at 1-800-447-1985.

What is case advocacy?

The case advocate’s role is to work with their client to create a recovery plan, determine their client’s
eligibility for various forms of assistance, and through that process identify areas of unmet needs that
would help the client fulfill their long-term recovery plan and become self-sufficient. Case advocates
have worked with hundreds of families, including many who have been FEMA temporary housing
residentsto assist them with their housing plans. Currently, advocates are working with 305
households.

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 FINANCIALS

The LALTRC projects that all available dollars will be expended before June 30, 2010.

Appliances and Household Items

LALTRC partners have helped flood affected families replace the appliances and belongings they lost.

Appliance Vouchers = Rotary Clubs of Cedar Rapids = $59,000

Appliance Grants = Alliant Energy (administered by HACAP) = $282,734

Refrigerators = Whirlpool = 442 refrigerators

Furnitures and other items = Salvation Army = $81,340

Unmet Needs Grants

LALTRC administered the state Unmet Needs grant program for residents of Linn County. More than
1,400 affected households were able to receive an additional $3,581,788 dollars in assistance.

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 MILESTONES
July 2008 LALTRC formed
Volunteer Reception Center opens
Project Recovery begins

Aug/Sept 2008 Community Needs Assessment

September 2008 JumpStart begins

Rebuild Training

October 2008 Eight Days of Hope

November 2008 Limited Case Advocacy Services Available

Holiday of Hope Fundraiser

December 2008 Community Recovery Center opens

Construction Coordinator begins work

January 2009 Case Advocacy Team in place

March 2009 Unmet Needs grants offered

Spring Break - 5,872 volunteer hours completed
Long Term Recovery Summit in Cedar Rapids

April 2009 Volunteer Reception Center - 100,000 volunteer hours coordinated

May 2009 Neighborhood Canvassing

June 2009 Anniversary of Floods

Healing the Heartland
Habitat for Humanity Build-A-Thon

October 2009 Congregations provided more than 1,440 nights of shelter to

4,600 volunteers since June 2008

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THANK YOU ALL WHO HAVE CONTRIBUTED TO RECOVERY
Abbe Center for Community Mental Health Iowa Disaster Human Resource Council (IDHRC)
Aldi Iowa State University Extension
American Red Cross Iowa Workforce Development
Americorps/VISTA Jeff Jones Consignment Furniture
Aspen Inn Linn County Community Services
Best Buy Linn County EMA (Emergency Management Agency)
Bills Brothers Furniture Linn County MHDD
Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Dubuque (Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities)
Cedar Valley Habitat for Humanity Linn County Nonprofit Resource Center
William & Gayle Chew Lutheran Disaster Response
Church World Service Matthew 25 Ministry Hub
Churches United Menards
City of Cedar Rapids Mercy Medical Center
Community Corrections Improvement Association Mercy Response/ Vineyard Church
Compassion First Mission North America/Presbyterian Church in America
Corridor Recovery Olivet Presbyterian Church
CRWRC Plumb Supply Company
(Christian Reform World Recovery Committee) Plumber’s and Pipe Fitters Union
EFCA (Evangelical Free Church of America) Presbyterian Disaster Response
ESCO Electric Co Rebuild Iowa Office
Faithful Response Retired Electricians
FEMA Retired Plumbers
First Lutheran Church Room Makers
Flood Recovery Office of the United Methodist Church Salvation Army
Foundation 2 Schimberg Co
Four Oaks Serve the City
HACAP Slumberland
(Hawkeye Area Community Action Program) St. Luke’s Hospital
Hands On Disaster Response St. Mark’s Lutheran Church
Hawkeye Labor Council Stuff Etc.
Heritage Area Agency on Aging Temple Judah
Hillside Wesleyan Church The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation
Home Depot United Way of East Central Iowa
Horizons Walmart
Howard Johnson Waypoint Services
Hy-Vee Westminster Presbyterian Church
Inter Religious Council Whirlpool
Iowa Department of Human Services

And a special thank you to any who might not be listed here but worked quietly and diligently for family,
friends and neighbors - we know there are so many that we have missed.

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 LINN AREA LONG TERM RECOVERY COALITION
STEERING COMMITTEE
Linda Bigley Iowa State University Extension

Rev. Tom Capo Faithful Response

Jane Drapeaux, Vice Chair Hawkeye Area Community Action Program

Faye Dykema City of Palo and CRWRC

Kathy Harmon Catholic Charities, Archdiocese of Dubuque

Ann Hearn, Secretary Linn County Community Services

Carol Helbling, Treasurer AEGON

Jennifer Hulik FEMA

Cindy Kaestner, Chair Abbe Center for Community Mental Health

Sr. Susan O’Connor Mercy Medical Center

Kris Riley United Way of East Central Iowa

Steve Schmitz, Director Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition

Liz Selk Heritage Area Agency on Aging

Lieutenant Sjogren Salvation Army

Pastor Michael Stadie Lutheran Services in Iowa

Karla Twedt-Ball The Greater Cedar Rapids Community Foundation

Bruce Vander Sanden Community Corrections Improvement Association

Becky Wood Iowa Annual Conference The United Methodist Church

Leslie Wright, Past Chair United Way of East Central Iowa

Linn Area Long Term Recovery Coalition

Housed at the Community Recovery Center
220 6th Street NW, Cedar Rapids, IA 52405
Phone (319) 261-0987