Outreach program held for Plainfield residents impacted by flooding
Plainfield was one of the areas of New Jersey hardest hit by heavy rain two weeks ago.
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Plainfield residents impacted by flooding last month attended an event on Monday to help them with recovery.
Plainfield was one of the hardest hit areas by storms just over two weeks ago. As residents continue to pick up the pieces, agencies are offering recovery resources for those affected.
A multi-agency resource center was held on Monday at the Charles and Anna Booker School with almost anything people recovering would need, from water to laundry detergent, to financial resources, food assistance and legal services.
"We made an appointment with the Red Cross. They’re going to come out and assess the property. We got some food resources, which is really helpful because food is very high now. They have cleaning fluid outside. We don’t have to spend more money on cleaning fluid. I’ve been spending a lot of money to clean up because we have to do it ourselves,” says resident Shelia Slappy-Wormack.
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Slappy-Wormack has lived in Plainfield for 25 years and says this is the worst flooding her family has ever experienced. She says she’s hoping the agencies at the resource center can help close the gap where insurance falls short.
"We had flooding in the basement, and it’s been horrible because the insurance company wouldn’t pay for it because they said we’re not located in a flood zone. We came here to get some kind of resource to see what could be done to help us," Slappy-Wormack said.
Organizations like the Red Cross, United Way, Salvation Army and others are offering assistance as families try to recoup what they lost after that deadly storm that flooded roads, homes and killed two people.
Diane Concannon, communications director for Red Cross New Jersey, stresses preparedness for future disasters.
“The American Red Cross nationwide is seeing disaster after disaster. We’re asking people, please be better prepared. If you can go to RedCross.org/PrepareNJ, the Red Cross has lots of free tools, resources family plans put together what to do, what to pack, what to have in your home, what to have in your car,” Concannon said.
This effort was spearheaded by Plainfield OEM and Union County OEM. Since last week, more than 150 families have reached out for help because they had major damage or their homes were destroyed.
https://www.redcross.org/local/new-jersey/about-us/our-work/prepare-nj.html
