I was invited to help the people affected by the flooding of the Arkansas River. I drove to Conway where the M.A.R.C. was located at Wesley United Methodist Church. MARC stands for Multiple Agency Resource Centers. It is a one stop place for people who were affected by the recent river flooding to come and get help. I sat at the intake desk: The first place that a person would stop on their way to all the other tables. I verified their identification and asked the basic questions. Did you have water in your house? How high did the water rise in your house? Do you have flood insurance? Have you registered with FEMA? Have you applied to the Small Business Administration? What is the biggest need you and your family have right now?
We were responsible for getting those questions answered and filled out on the paperwork in a way that the others could read but that was our secondary responsibility. Our first was to be a calm, friendly presence to people who had been through a traumatic event.
Then we would pass them on to their Ambassador (a person who would walk them through the process to the end). The tables were staffed with people from the American Red Cross, FEMA, Attorney General’s Office, Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services and religious organizations of every kind; United Methodist UMCOR, Presbyterians, Episcopalians, Baptist, for example. We helped with financial recovery, to home clean-up, to mental health. It was a great example of religious and government working together to help our fellow Arkansans.
There really isn’t any job too big if we all work together. It will be a long time before these folks are back to a new normal and it will sometimes seem that for every step forward they will back two backward but I am convinced that with the help of God and all groups working together they will reach that new normal.
Blessings,
Rev. Candace