The Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) met Monday, September 26 to begin prioritizing and assessing flood recovery efforts. The COAD serves the entirety of Black Hawk County by bringing together voluntary agencies, businesses and governmental agencies in order to allow for more effective preparedness, response and recovery. Some of those representatives include Cedar Valley United Way, Cedar Valley Volunteer Center, Northeast Iowa Food Bank, Operation Threshold, Salvation Army, Red Cross, City of Waterloo, City of Cedar Falls, Black Hawk County and Black Hawk County Emergency Management.
The early response to the recovery is identifying emergency food and shelter, followed by clean-up and assessment of damages. The early assessments will be compiled by the 211 service. Residents who have damage to report should call 2-1-1, or (319)739-4211, or 1-866-469-2241. The information collected on the call includes name, address, telephone number, age of oldest in the household, type of damage and type of insurance coverage and volunteer need.
Governor Terry Branstad issued a proclamation of disaster emergency, activating the Iowa Individual Assistance Program which provides grants of up to $5,000 for households with incomes up to 200% of the current poverty level, or a maximum annual income of $40,320, for a family of three. Grants are available for home or vehicle repairs, replacement of clothing or food, and for the expense of temporary housing. Original receipts are required for those seeking reimbursement for actual expenses related to disaster recovery. The grant application and instructions are available on the Iowa Department of Human Services website. Potential applicants have 45 days from the date of the proclamation to submit a claim. Locally the applications will be taken by Operation Threshold, (319)291-2065.
Those inerested in volunteering to assist with recovery efforts should complete volunteer interest form at www.vccv.org
On behalf of the COAD, Cedar Valley United Way will accept monetary donations to be dispersed in the community. Donations will go to impacted residents for assistance as directed by the COAD.
For more information on the Black Hawk County COAD, please contact the Volunteer Center of the Cedar Valley at information@vccv.org, Janna Diehl at JDiehl@NEI3A, or Sheila Baird at sheila.baird@cvuw.org