AmeriCorps Deployed to
Assist Missouri with Flood Recovery Efforts
More than 100 AmeriCorps
members from across the country arrive in St. Louis region to help rebuild
WASHINGTON,
D.C. – Today, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the
federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, announced that more than 100 AmeriCorps
members have been deployed to areas devastated by massive flooding in Missouri.
In
partnership with the State Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, the Missouri
Community Service Commission, and voluntary agency partners, these AmeriCorps
members are coordinating the volunteer response efforts as well as providing
direct assistance to homeowners by removing debris and mucking out homes.
A team from local organization AmeriCorps St.
Louis Emergency Response Team has been in the area since December 29 supporting
response activities. They were joined this week by AmeriCorps Disaster Response
Teams from Washington Conservation Corps, AmeriCorps National Civilian
Community Corps (NCCC), Conservation Corps of Minnesota and Iowa, and Hoopa
Tribal Civilian Community Corps.
AmeriCorps
Disaster Response Teams are CNCS’ elite, specialty-trained crews deployed at
the request of local and federal emergency managers. These teams provide expert
manpower for everything from coordinating volunteers to donations management,
sandbagging to shelter operations, and debris removal to home repairs.
Wendy
Spencer, CEO of CNCS, was in the area on Tuesday of this week, when she met
with some of the deployed AmeriCorps members, as well as other local residents.
She was joined by Kelly DeGraff, the agency’s Senior Advisor for Disaster
Services.
“As
Missourians dig out and begin to rebuild, the national service family stands
should to shoulder with them in their time of need,” said Wendy Spencer, CEO of
the Corporation for National and Community Service. “During my time in the St.
Louis region, I was inspired by the resilience of the community and the swift
and coordinated response of emergency personnel, government agencies, and
nonprofit and faith-based groups whose work is helping the community recover
and rebuild. Our AmeriCorps teams were fast on the ground, and are providing
vital relief to survivors. Through these additional resources we are announcing
today, we will continue to support Missouri over the long haul.”
CNCS has an
established record when it comes to disaster response, particularly in
Missouri. The first team of AmeriCorps members arrived within hours after the
tornado ripped through Joplin in May 2011. In the first year after the tornado,
more than 350 AmeriCorps members arrived in the area – providing vital services
and coordinating more than 75,000 volunteers who were essential to the city’s
recovery. AmeriCorps members were instrumental in coordinating an influx of
volunteers and donations that saved the City of Joplin more than $17.7 million.
Following
a disaster, national service acts as a force multiplier, providing key
resources and significantly expanding the capacity of existing organizations on
the ground. More than 40,000 AmeriCorps and Senior Corps members were deployed
in response to Hurricane Katrina. In the decade since, AmeriCorps teams have
provided critical support after countless disasters, including Hurricane Sandy,
the 2013 floods in Colorado, tornadoes in Joplin, Mo., Tuscaloosa, Ala., and
Moore, Okla., and the October 2015 floods in South Carolina.
Through all its
programs and initiatives, CNCS helps communities to prepare for, mitigate,
respond, and recover from disasters. Beginning with Hurricane Katrina, AmeriCorps
teams have provided critical support after numerous disasters in the past
decade, including tornadoes in Joplin, Tuscaloosa, and Moore; flooding in the
Colorado and the Midwest; Western forest fires; Hurricane Sandy; and many
others. Since Katrina, the agency has developed innovative programs to support
disaster survivors, including FEMA Corps, AmeriCorps Disaster Response Teams,
and Resilience AmeriCorps.
This
deployment is possible through close coordination and support from the Missouri
State Emergency Management Agency, FEMA, National Guard, Army Corps of
Engineers, EPA, United Way of Greater St. Louis, and the Missouri VOAD
(Voluntary Agency Active in Disaster). In addition, the agency is working closely
with the Missouri Community Service Commission, the state service commission
responsible for implementing national service programs in Missouri.
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