Duluth
Minnesota Relief – Flood Response
June 2012 – July 2012
AH&H responded to flooding in Duluth, Minnesota, helping with damage assessments, mucking and gutting, and essential home repairs.
Disaster Profile
In response to the flooding in NE Minnesota, we helped establish the Volunteer Reception Center of Greater Duluth. This was done through a system for coordinating volunteers and tracking homeowner needs was provided to the greater Duluth area.
Our Response
Launching Volunteer Efforts to Support Families After the Floods
Directly following the flooding in NE Minnesota, United Way 2-1-1, the United Way of Greater Duluth, and the City of Duluth began to collect homeowner needs and volunteer registration. This is when the clean-up efforts began to take place. There was a need for guidance and support for how to leverage the volunteer offers, in order to meet homeowner needs. We were invited to provide coordination services and setup a system to match volunteer services to community needs. Within 48 hours of deployment, the Volunteer Reception Center of Greater Duluth was open and launching volunteers. Once opened, the many pieces required a VRC operation to begin to take place. The VRC confirmed the needs of homeowners and assessed sites for volunteer assignment. The volunteers deployed through a walk-up registration process, and communication with local responding agencies to ensure an effective community response. Our local partners were provided with training on the system in place. This allowed them to continue to coordinate volunteers for as long as necessary and leading into the long-term recovery effort.