Logan County households impacted by the March 14 tornado that ripped through the Indian Lake region are invited to apply for financial assistance through United Way’s Indian Lake Tornado Relief Fund.
Intake will occur by appointment only at the Multi-Agency Resource Center established for tornado victims, which is moving to 431 Madison Avenue in Russells Point. Victims can schedule an appointment online at www.uwlogan.org or by calling (937) 592-2886.
Financial assistance is available for needs including:
• Housing expenses, including rent, mortgage, security deposit, hotel expenses;
• Home repair, including insurance deductible;
• Auto expenses, including car repair, car payment, down payment, insurance deductible;
• Prescription medication;
• Utilities;
• Student hardship fees;
• Pet care; and
• Other living expenses as deemed appropriate during in-take.
Appointments will occur at the Multi-Agency Resource Center in conjunction with other state and local agencies so that victims can bundle and maximize the help they can receive.
Residents needing transportation to an appointment can call Lift Delivery at (937) 722-1347 for a free ride.
The financial assistance comes from donations made to United Way’s Indian Lake Tornado Relief Fund, which has raised $1,130,337 in the three weeks since the devastating storm. That’s more than United Way of Logan County raised all of last year.
Pledges from individuals, corporations, and charitable organizations have poured in from 40 states coast to coast, United Way officials noted. One hundred percent of all money donated to the Relief Fund will be used to support immediate and long-term recovery efforts, with an emphasis to be placed on identifying and fulfilling unmet needs.
“On behalf of the Indian Lake Tornado Relief Committee, we thank all the outside donors for your support to create this opportunity,” said Brenda Moots, owner of Indian Lake Outfitters & The Depot in Lakeview.
“Our goal is to assist as many families as possible with full transparency, representation, and immediate need to our Indian Lake area residents.
“We know this isn’t a fix-all answer to everyone’s situation. It won’t completely address the large number of displaced families or their widespread needs. But it is certainly a good start that offers hope and assists with more immediate need while the community works through avenues of other funding possibilities.”
Moots joined other tornado victims from each affected neighborhood and leaders from the Indian Lake community this week to determine the criteria for how the Relief Funds would be spent.
Fellow committee members include: Dave Coburn – Indian Lake Schools; Pastor Jim Ellington – Indian Lake Community Church; Dale Frymeyer – Choice Properties Real Estate / Indian Lake Development Corporation; Suzanne Gillespie – Shoreline Construction; Cynthia Heffner – Logan County Department of Job & Family Services; Rachel Kubic – Hanna Howard Real Estate / Indian Lake Development Corporation; Scott Mohler – Lift Delivery; Amy Musil – LuLu’s at the Lake; Tim O’Rielley – CoverLink Insurance / United Way Allocations Chair; Rick Powers – NX Automotive Logistics / United Way Board Member; Katie Rychener – Unit-Ten / United Way Board Member; Corey VanHoose – CenterPoint Energy / United Way Board Member.
Also present were: Dave Bezusko and Ashley Spence, United Way of Logan County; and Bobbi Jo Trittschuh – Honda.
The committee authorized that 70 percent of the funds raised to date (up to $800,000) will be used in this second phase of support for tornado recovery, with the remaining funds set aside for a third phase of funding taking long-term needs into account this summer.
“As we venture through recovery together, the common theme the committee is hearing relates to housing and non-insured or underinsured situations,” Moots said. “The most important thing is that each person in our community matters. As a committee we are sensitive to that and want to do our best to keep everyone here where they live in our hometown of Indian Lake, because that’s what makes our community great.”
PHASE 1 FUNDING
The morning following the storm, United Way released $100,000 of its own funds for agencies providing immediate support to the disaster response.
First phase funding was used for the following purposes:
• Aries Pharmacy – $483 to cover cost of prescription medication and copays for victims.
• Liberty Roofing – $30,000 to provide roofing materials and repairs of uninsured victims.
• Logan County Board of Developmental Disabilities – $10,000 to cover basic needs for their affected clients.
• Logan County Cancer Society – $5,000 to cover cost of lost medication / supplies for cancer patients.
• Mary Rutan Foundation – $9,337.78 – to purchase and deliver generators for use in the immediate aftermath in the Indian Lake region.
• Mary Rutan Foundation – $10,000 to cover cost of prescription medication and copays for victims.
• Peak of Hope Homeless Shelter – $25,000 for temporary hotel stays for medically fragile victims unable to utilize community emergency shelters.
• RTC Services – $5,000 to provide transportation / shuttle service for victims who lost their cars.
• TCN Behavioral Health – $5,000 to cover basic needs for their affected mental health clients.
• United Way – $1,636.16 – to purchase equipment and supplies to set up the two Multi-Agency Resource Centers.
• United Way – $300 – Gas cards for generators.
• United Way – $233.81 – to rent and deliver portable storage units to downtown Lakeview.
• United Way – $139.41 – a floodlight for a materials distribution point in downtown Lakeview.