Disaster Assistance for Northwest Indiana

Disaster Assistance for Northwest Indiana (DANI) was formed in February 2008 by faith-based and community-based organizations to respond to the long-term recovery needs of the survivors of the devastating flooding in the winter of 2008 and in March 2009, mainly along the Tippecanoe River and surrounding areas. The overall Federal Disaster Area stretches from Tippecanoe County on the southwest to Allen County on the northeast. FEMA, the Red Cross, and many other agencies joined together to deal with the immediate needs of the crisis, such as rescue, emergency shelter, clothing, and initial clean up. To help these families get back to their pre-flood lives, long-term recovery help is needed.

DANI has been working to meet the needs of the 8 counties on the southwest end of the disaster area. The counties included are Tippecanoe, Carroll, White, Jasper, Benton, Pulaski, Fulton, and Cass. FEMA has received more than 1,300 applications for assistance from families in this region for 2008 disasters and more than 350 applications from 2009. To date, DANI has worked with more than 190 families with unmet needs after federal and insurance funds are applied. DANI’s role is to assist these families in finding ways to meet these needs to bring them back to pre-flood standing. A central team consisting of coordinators and caseworkers works with the DANI leadership team to guide this project. The team meets regularly to review progress, approve recovery requests, and make plans for restoration.

The Nehemiah Partners project provide a major means of helping recovering families meet their recovery goals. You can participate!

DANI operates on three coordinated fronts: Case Management, Construction, and Financial.

Case Management meets with individual families to review what needs exist, what resources have already been sought and used, and what remains to be resolved. Case workers work to empower the flooding survivors to create a plan for long-term recovery, and work one-on-one to put recovery in motion. Appropriate unmet needs are presented to a DANI committee for consideration for funding.
Construction evaluates building projects referred from Case Management that need extensive repairs beyond those covered by FEMA or insurance funds, and coordinates volunteer efforts to provide the labor needed to complete these projects.
The Financial group coordinates the extensive fundraising and dispersement effort needed to accomplish this great task for the community.

To date, more than $2,000,000 has been invested in returning this community to pre-flood wholeness, either through direct monetary contributions, or through donated resources. To meet the remaining unmet needs for the flood survivors, it is now estimated that an additional $20,000 dollars will be needed between now and December 2010, our anticipated closing date.