High River’s Renew Committee and its four Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs) – Samaritan’s Purse, Mennonite Disaster Service, Habitat for Humanity and World Renew are encouraging High River residents to seek their assistance.
The flood-relief agencies have completed 143 jobs to-date. Some jobs were small – such as wall studding, insulating, installing vapor barriers, dry-walling, mudding, taping, and painting, – while some were much larger projects, including a complete home rebuild. There are currently 24 projects underway and 46 pending.
Sarah Bruinsma, senior case manager with World Renew said, “we don’t want people thinking that ‘there are so many people who are worse off than me since the flood.’ Our volunteers are here to help as many people as possible.”
When a resident phones into the Renew Committee and leaves a message, the calls are divided among the senior case managers of the four NGOs. Part of reviewing the request includes understanding the financial assistance the resident has already received and assessing the gap that exists between what has been have received and what is needed to recover. All of this information stays with the case manager and is confidential.
“The NGOs need this information to make sure we are doing our due diligence and to know we are helping in situations where we are needed,” says Bruinsma. “Every situation is different but if we don’t know who you are or what assistance you might be requiring, we can’t assist you. The most important thing for people still struggling is to know there are a number of resources in the community.”
For more information about the Renew Committee and the four NGOs working in High River and how they can help you, please call 403-603-3582. All calls are confidential.