On May 21, 2020 Heavy rain led to two dam failures in Central Michigan, and thousands were displaced from their homes. On May 27, 2020, after careful consideration with COVID-19 restrictions, NECHAMA sent an Assessment team to Midland County in central Michigan.
Working with local partners in Sanford, MI, we mucked and gutted the home of Ruth (90) and her husband Leroy (85) displaced from the floods. Their basement and part of the first floor were inundated. With the assistance of 20 volunteers, including their children and grandchildren, our friend Sue Glassnor and her daughter, former Program Staff member Emily Brough, and volunteers from United Way Crisis Response International, the home was cleared and ready for rebuild.
During our time in Midland, we found that most of the response work had been taken care of and the community was coming together to take care of what needed to be done. Our team returned to Minnesota to join our response work here.