One hundred eighty-three families impacted by recent flooding received assistance Thursday at the Multi-Agency Resource Center held at Memorial Baptist Church in Poplar Bluff.
The MARC included a variety of trained workers from government and non-profit agencies who helped flood victims find access to housing, public assistance, understand insurance policies and the claim filing process and connect with community partners such as the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army and Catholic Charities.
Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Robbie Myers said the MARC was a "one-stop shop to connect flood victims to the resources that exist."
"State Emergency Management Agency, or SEMA, has been putting MARCs all over the impacted flood areas across the state," Myers said. "They worked closely with the American Red Cross to gather all these different agencies and non-profit groups that have resources to provide for the flood victims."
One of the participating organizations was the University of Missouri Extension Office.
Butler County Program Director Sarah Denkler said the extension office attended the MARC to help people understand how to clean up their homes after a flood.
"We tell them how to take all the wet stuff out, how to dry it, what to do to help remove the mold, and what to do to prevent the mold from coming back," Denkler said.
"We also talk to them about what to do if their well was under water, if their garden got flooded, or even if they have squirrels in the attic or rodents hiding out in their home," Denkler said.
Myers said aside from the multiple agencies that participated, another factor that helped make the MARC a success was the various donations from local residents and businesses.
"All of the items the community brought out when the shelter first opened a week and a half ago at the donation center provided by Poplar Bluff Regional Medical Center at their south location, all of those items have been distributed at different times throughout this process, and we brought the remainder of items here and now they've all been given out."
Myers also said Newwave Communications donated bandwidth for the event, which allowed the representatives from various agencies adequate internet access to fulfill their tasks and Memorial Baptist Church donated the facility where the event was held.
"On behalf of Butler County, I want to thank all the citizens who have come out to help and who have provided the cleaning supplies, water, food and hygiene items that we were able to distribute to everyone," Myers said. "AmeriCorps has been a great partner and I can't speak highly enough for all the different partners who have come together to get recovery started here in our county."
Myers said he will be working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, SEMA, and the Small Business Administration Friday to assess the most damaged areas of Butler County, which is a standard process before there can be a federal disaster declaration.