ELCA NEWS SERVICE

January 2, 2009

Lutheran Services in Iowa Critical to Storm Victims' Recovery
09-002-JB*/SHA

     CHICAGO (ELCA) - Many Iowa families are beginning 2009 still
trying to recover from devastating tornadoes and floods of 2008.
     They're crediting Lutheran Services in Iowa (LSI) for making
their hardships bearable. LSI is affiliated with Lutheran
Disaster Response, a collaborative ministry of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Lutheran Church-
Missouri Synod.
     "I was ready to give up," said Joe Fodor of Washburn, a town
of 1,400 residents in eastern Iowa affected by flooding. "LSI is
just a godsend, and they are so helpful to me and my family."
     The worst Midwest flooding in 15 years barreled through Iowa
and other states last summer and swamped businesses, homes and
farms.
     Many of the Iowans affected gathered recently at LSI's
Bremwood campus in Waverly, a community of 9,000 in the state's
flood-ravaged area.
     They poured out tales about the long process of recovery to
representatives from the Federal Emergency Management Agency,
Project Recovery Iowa, Rebuild Iowa Office and Pathways, Red
Cross and Iowa's Department of Human Services.
     U.S. Senator Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, also listened to
concerns and fielded questions.
     "One of the hardest parts of this process is hearing about
FEMA denials and people going through the appeals process," the
senator said. "Nonprofits like LSI are very helpful, particularly
where FEMA can't help right away or people are falling through
the cracks."
     LSI is handling case management for 87 percent of the
state's recovery cases based on FEMA registrations. Case
advocates are assisting people in 14 counties as well as in the
city of Parkersburg.
     In disaster recovery "nonprofits tend to have a heart that
government bureaucrats don't always seem to have," Grassley said.
     Dennis Magee and his family are well aware of the difference
nonprofits can make. They lived in the path of a tornado that
ripped through northeast Iowa last May, killing six, injuring 70
and damaging hundreds of homes.
     "What LSI provided most was the knowledge that people still
care for us and are there for us," Magee said, who noted that
gift cards from LSI enriched his family's Christmas celebration.
     LSI case advocates work with families and individuals
affected by disaster to assist with long-term needs. The agency
partners with local disaster recovery committees.
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     Information about Lutheran Services in Iowa is at
http://www.lsiowa.org on the Web.

*Jake Byers is LSI's advancement communications coordinator.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog