House in a Box Program aims to give 'fresh new start' to Michigan flood survivors

MIDLAND, MI - It’s been over nine months since the historic flooding from the Midland County dam failures damaged thousands of family’s homes, belongings and lives. Nonetheless, the community continues to pull together to help those in need.

The House in a Box Program was developed through a partnership between the Long-Term Disaster Recovery Group, United Way of Midland County and the Disaster Services Corporation - Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA. Each kit will include brand-new items such as beds, linens, dishes, pots and pans, dressers, silverware, bathroom setup, dinette and a couch, according to a press release.

Flood recovery looks different for each individual family, says Bre Sklar, Disaster Volunteer Manager of United Way of Midland County, as they work at their own pace. On Tuesday, the collaborating groups and volunteers distributed 50 kits to Midland County flood survivors.

“This is going to be such an impactful mission for our community because not only does it alleviate the burden of having to coordinate and think of all of the items they need to get their home with a fresh new start, but this is going to be their foundation,” Sklar said. “This is going to be couches and beds where they can hold their first memories and a fresh clean start.”

Kevin Peach, Chief Operating Officer of Disaster Services Corporation - Society of St. Vincent de Paul USA, said they have handled approximately 15 disasters within the last year including hurricanes, tornados, record wildfires, the mid-Michigan flooding event and more.

“Every disaster is completely unique to the geographic area,” Peach said. “This is still an issue. There’s still a lot of resources and a lot of recovery to be happening.”

With the added battle of the coronavirus pandemic, less disaster relief volunteers have been able to assist Peach said. However, it’s not stopping all volunteer work.

“Traditionally, during large scale disasters, you have folks coming from across the country to come down and serve, help clear debris, you know, do food pantry stuff,” Peach said. “With COVID, you know, there’s a lot more barriers, challenges. It’s not deterring a lot of these folks and I think we still need to be mindful of all the different precautions that we need to take, but there’s no reason that we can’t still come out and serve.”

While living in Midland and attending a church, Martin Severance heard several stories through other members about how they needed help after the flood. Once he began helping them out, Severance said he wanted to assist as many families as possible through this challenging time.

“It’s just amazing to me what the level of devastation was and the fact that there were families just completely had their lives upended, being torn from their homes, and having a lifetime worth of possessions being wiped out essentially in a matter of hours,” he said.

That’s why he made sure to be in attendance on Tuesday to volunteer and help in any way he could.

“It’s certainly a very fulfilling feeling,” Severance said. “You want to know that you helped, especially for me personally being completely untouched by the flood I want to be able to do something. I want it to be meaningful for those that it’s intended to help.”

According to the press release, Midland County families were chosen after being reviewed.

“Families are reviewed and referred to the program through a Disaster Case Management process that ensures that there is no duplication of benefits,” Peach said. “DSC buys furniture and furnishings in volume through pre-screened vendors so that it can provide a starter household furniture kit at a greatly reduced price.”

Throughout the entire nine months, Sklar has continued to be there for families from gutting their homes to now helping to fill some with new items. As the emotions overcame her, she mentioned just how meaningful taking this step is.

“This is actually a really rewarding day for me. We have worked with flood survivors from the early stages from removing all of their initial items that were affected by the flood, so being able to replace those items for the flood survivors is something that’s really meaningful and I think it’s going to be meaningful to them as well.”

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