NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Many victims of Nashville's May 1-2 flood are still struggling to meet a myriad of needs, and United Way has organized community resources and is pushing them out to the areas hardest hit.
United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and six of its partner agencies are operating five Restore the Dream Centers, which work one-on-one with individuals and families who are struggling to put their lives and their homes back together in the wake of the May Flood.
Restore the Dream Centers have been operating in Madison, Northwest Nashville, Bordeaux, Bellevue, and Antioch since early July. Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Conexion Americas, St. Luke's Community House, Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center, Inc. and Fifty Forward have partnered with United Way to open and operate the centers.
United Way and the partnering agencies analyzed data generated by more than 35,000 calls to United Way's 2-1-1 Hotline after the May 1 flood and identified sites that are proximate to the areas where the largest number of needs were identified and still remain. The network of non-profit agencies has marshaled space in those areas and Centers have already served almost 900 families.
Restore the Dream Centers have on-site trained case managers who work with individuals to design feasible solutions to meet their needs. Through a series of in-depth questions, the case managers gain a thorough understanding of each victim's specific needs and bring together the mix of services that victim needs to make progress toward restoring their life.
Among the hundreds of types of services that can be accessed by the network are affordable housing, legal assistance, depression treatment and suicide prevention, employment counseling, direct financial assistance, and in-home specialists for elderly and other individuals with specialized needs.
Using United Way's 2-1-1 Helpline resources database, case managers are able to access more than 7,000 different resources including non-profit organizations, government programs, faith-based institutions and private companies who help victims.
Individuals and families who need help can visit one of the Centers or connect with them by calling 2-1-1.
