By Brian Blair, The Republic
bblair@therepublic.com
A broad committee is forming to deal with long-term effects of the flood in Bartholomew County.
Churches are being asked to allow local, state and federal agencies to deal with victims first so ministry money can be used when other resources are depleted.
"Never use a donated dollar where a federal dollar meant for a specific purpose will do its job," said Kevin Cox of Indiana Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.
Those developments surfaced at a meeting Tuesday morning with pastors, social service agencies, volunteer groups and others at North Christian Church.
About 60 people took aim at how to help flood victims long after FEMA and other outside agencies will have departed.
Attendees represented United Way of Bartholomew County, Heritage Fund: The Community Foundation of Bartholomew County, Love Chapel and other high-profile helpers.
The United Methodist Committee on Relief has pledged $5,000 to help a long-term committee pay initial expenses such as office space.
Caseworkers also are expected to come on board.
Cox said he believes full recovery will take as much as three years, partly because as much as 95 percent of the more than 2,000 people affected had no flood insurance.
He also stressed that churches and other organizations must agree to allow United Way or some other agency to be a storehouse of people's needs and the resources available.
Angie Huebel, who is coordinating those efforts for United Way, asked that every organization register its volunteers, resources and expertise at United Way's special phone line at 314-2344, so the needs can be quickly matched with proper assistance.
"It is imperative that one (local) center knows the needs and the volunteers, so we can be a well-oiled machine," said Huebel.
She praised volunteers for their work, including out-of-town parachurch ministries such as Samaritan's Purse, calling them "a godsend."
But she also said much work needs to be done, because some people not yet reached by helpers are sitting in damaged homes.
Heritage Fund Chief Executive Officer Sherry Stark thanked all agencies that have helped and said the foundation has launched a flood relief fund - and still is deciding how to spend the money.
Cox told church representatives that they and their outreach organizations will be more important than ever months down the road.
"We're going to need to raise an awful lot of money," Cox said. "And we'll have to come back to the churches for some of that."
The Rev. Lanny Lawler, of North Christian Church, said organizers of Tuesday's meeting "have no particular structure in mind" for the lone-term committee. "It's all very fluid."
Several said it should include representatives from city and county government, social service, faith-based groups, volunteer organizations and more.