Et cetera : Iowa NCCC team joins forces with FEMA to help a spirited city

By: Colton Gale

A group of young adults from the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) called Oak 2 have traveled from the team’s home campus in Vinton, Iowa to Joplin, Missouri. They have been paired up with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Jasper County Long-Term Recovery Committee to help collect information from disaster survivors.

Oak 2 was accompanied on this disaster project by 3 other teams from the Vinton campus. All of these NCCC members have been contacting those affected by the tornados that are registered with FEMA to set up interviews and gather necessary information. The teams have been guiding survivors in the direction of local resources to help get their lives back on track. The NCCC teams are also inputting personal data into FEMA’s Coordinated Assistance Network (CAN) that allows about 80 organizations to contact survivors to help any way they can. This CAN network consists of groups such as The United Way, Safe Horizon, The Salvation Army, AIRS, The American Red Cross, and many more.

The work being accomplished by the NCCC teams is important to the community because the city is more than ready to rebuild itself. With over 5000 homes wiped off the map, 9 schools destroyed, nearly 2 million cubic yards of debris, and 169 fatalities, it is evident that Joplin has risen above the tragedy to bond together. The city held an “I am Joplin” event on August 10th that was geared toward the start of school and getting families prepared for a new routine. Also on the agenda was paying respects to those students and teachers lost in the tornado. The guest speaker rallied the crowd with strong words of positivity; “There were people out there 20 minutes after [the tornado] with chainsaws clearing fallen trees and others out there ready to help. We are Joplin, Missouri and I am proud to live here!”

Oak 2 will be working on the project until August 26th in which time they will return to campus in Vinton for a brief transition before heading out to their next project in Coggon, Iowa. Their task will be trail building and restoration lasting 6 weeks from the beginning of September until the end of October.