January 2, 2009

CHICAGO – Many Iowa families are beginning 2009 still trying to recover from devastating tornadoes and floods of 2008.

They're crediting Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) for making their hardships bearable. LSI is affiliated with Lutheran Disaster Response, a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church- Missouri Synod.

"I was ready to give up," said Joe Fodor of Washburn, a town of 1,400 residents in eastern Iowa affected by flooding. "LSI is just a godsend, and they are so helpful to me and my family."

The worst Midwest flooding in 15 years barreled through Iowa and other states last summer and swamped businesses, homes and farms.

Many of the Iowans affected gathered recently at LSI's Bremwood campus in Waverly, a community of 9,000 in the state's flood-ravaged area.

They poured out tales about the long process of recovery to representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Project Recovery Iowa, Rebuild Iowa Office and Pathways, Red Cross and Iowa's Department of Human Services.

U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, also listened to concerns and fielded questions.

"One of the hardest parts of this process is hearing about FEMA denials and people going through the appeals process," the senator said. "Nonprofits like LSI are very helpful, particularly where FEMA can't help right away or people are falling through the cracks."

LSI is handling case management for 87 percent of the state's recovery cases based on FEMA registrations. Case advocates are assisting people in 14 counties as well as in the city of Parkersburg.

In disaster recovery "nonprofits tend to have a heart that government bureaucrats don't always seem to have," Grassley said.

Dennis Magee and his family are well aware of the difference nonprofits can make. They lived in the path of a tornado that ripped through northeast Iowa last May, killing six, injuring 70 and damaging hundreds of homes.

"What LSI provided most was the knowledge that people still care for us and are there for us," Magee said, who noted that gift cards from LSI enriched his family's Christmas celebration.

LSI case advocates work with families and individuals affected by disaster to assist with long-term needs. The agency partners with local disaster recovery committees.

Information about Lutheran Services in Iowa is at http://www.lsiowa.org/, on the Web.

ELCA News Service
Jake Byers is LSI's advancement communications coordinator.