U.S. Rep. Mike Pence spoke to Muncie Rotary more than a month ago about the devastation the Indiana floods had caused in his hometown of Columbus, Ind. He appealed to Rotarians to reach out to the Columbus club to help them help restore their town. Gay Nation took the lead and organized work groups to go down on three consecutive Saturdays. I joined Gay and sister Rotarian Pat Garafolo on the trip this past week.
We stepped into the East Side Community Center in Columbus and found that small room packed with people packing lunches. Our job was to deliver the lunches to areas of town where homes had been flooded. The meals were packed in carry-out containers and the containers in cardboard boxes that were loaded into five waiting vehicles. We brought plenty of water and that was divvied up as well. We quickly jumped into different cars with people who knew the routes and started off.
The Columbus hospital was damaged so badly that it had to be evacuated. Employees continue to report to work and to be paid but their work assignments are often not hospital related. There was quite a crew of hospital employees at East Side, dishing up food, delivering lunches, and cleaning up the center. Pat and Gay had met many on their trip the week before.
I rode with Charlie, a Rotarian, and Ginger, a community volunteer. Ginger had delivered meals before and knew the route. We went into one of the hardest hit areas of Columbus. We delivered 58 of the 60 meals we took. Many, many homes were vacant. Many had huge barrel fans set up and running. From the outside most houses looked normal but a glance in the windows showed interiors with nothing left but floor boards and studs.
We saw debris and piles of saturated belongings lining the streets as home owners continued the tough task of emptying out their basements. A few people had RVs pulled into their driveways as a place to live while doing repairs. There were a surprising number of real estate sale signs.
As we approached homes the smell of mildew and dirty water was overpowering. We wondered how those who were hoping to live there would ever get rid of that stench. People still living on the blocks we traveled seemed resigned to their situations and committed to getting their homes back in order. They were thankful for the lunches and for the volunteers who brought them.
Back at East Side, kitchen cleanup was under way. We barely got started when we were recruited to unload a truck. The Catholic parish at Geist had collected enough household items to fill a large moving truck and a pickup. A couple dozen people seemed to appear from nowhere and begun unloading by hand, in 90-degree humid heat, sofas, beds, appliances, televisions and much, much more. Whew — it was tough! We sat the stuff down in the parking lot. Once it was unloaded, pre-selected families were invited to pick out what they could use.
It is hard to imagine how much more help will be needed before families are back on their feet. From the looks of things their community will be there for them and so will others who hear about the need. United Way is coordinating the volunteer efforts and a Web search shows a number of churches also addressing the task.
We see it all the time at Second Harvest Food Bank. Once people know the need and how they can help, they do. That’s how we continue to get food to people in crisis here in east central Indiana. Citizens see the need and respond. Food and funds are donated. Time and energy is donated. The community rallies and responds.
Crisis may be generated by a flood and more commonly by lack of work, low wages, divorce, illness or aging. Like the flooded out residents of Columbus, children, families and singles in our town need some, and sometimes a lot, of help while they struggle to get back on their feet. We are fortunate to live in a land where reaching out with a helping hand is considered the right thing to do!
Lois Rockhill is executive director of Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana. She can be reached at lrockhill@cure hunger.org.
Columns
LOIS ROCKHILL: Helping out after the floods
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