Day 19: Middle Tennessee Floods & Hurricane Ida Update

Dear Friend,

Inspiritus Response teams are still on the ground in Waverly, Tennessee following last month’s deadly floods, and will serve this community for at least a month. We have now extended our time on the ground to six weeks, thanks to the generous support of donors like you.

We are also on the ground in Louisiana where we are purifying water for communities in need. Our team first arrived in Metairie, LA over Labor Day weekend with our new WOW Cart, which can purify 6,000-10,000 gallons of water per day and we are now providing pure water to communities without.

An Inspiritus volunteer is supporting this homeowner by assessing her home's needs and helping her connect with volunteers from our VOAD partner, Team Rubicon.

WHAT WE ARE DOING (Day 19 Update)

• Volunteer Housing Camp (TN): Inspiritus' Disaster Relief staff and team leads began arriving in Waverly, TN on August 22 and are living at a temporary Inspiritus Volunteer Responder Housing camp.

• Volunteer Reception Center (TN): Our team has established a Volunteer Reception Center (VRC) in Humphreys County, in partnership with the County and TEMA. The VRC is operating in front of the Dollar Tree in Waverly, TN. (The purpose of a VRC in a disaster zone is to provide a location where all volunteers who show up to help can register and be assigned to organized projects where they are needed most.)

• Assistance Call Center (TN): The call center has been relocated to operate in the VRC and is being supported by Inspiritus oversight. (A Call Center receives requests for assistance and aid.)

• Distribution Resource Center (TN): Inspiritus teams are helping manage the Distribution Resource Center at the Humphreys County fairgrounds. (A Distribution Resource Center is established as a centralized resource where donated resources are received and redistributed to multiple distribution sites throughout the impacted communities.)

• Debris Removal, Muck & Gut (TN): Our team leads are actively deploying volunteers to provide debris removal and muck & gut services. (Debris Removal: Volunteers use chainsaws, heavy equipment and gloves to remove fallen trees and debris. Muck & Gut: Volunteers wear full body safety gear to enter flooded homes and remove damaged sheetrock, cabinetry, flooring, belongings, etc. These free services often save each homeowner up to $30,000.)

• Demolition (TN): Volunteers are actively deploying to conduct heavy equipment demolition of private properties.

• Water Purification (LA): Volunteers are purifying water in Louisiana with our new WaterStep WOW Cart, which can purify up to 10k gallons a day.

“Without Inspiritus and the leadership they’ve provided to the VOAD [Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster], we could not have responded to this crisis effectively and would have had to muddle through. We are a small jurisdiction with a small public safety team and their [Inspiritus] partnership was essential. We are months ahead of where we would have been, thanks to Inspiritus.” -Officer John Chapman, Incident Commander, Humphreys County Sheriff’s Department

Photo: Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee with Inspiritus' Sherry Buresh and the Humphreys County Assistant Incident Commander and Colleague.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

DONATE

Donate to Inspiritus: The more funding we raise, the longer our teams can stay on the ground helping homeowners impacted by the flooding. Your support will provide free debris removal, muck & gut services and property demolition to families affected by the storm, especially those who can't recover without help.

Donate to The Southeastern Synod of the ELCA: Donations may also be made to support the Southeastern Synod of the ELCA disaster relief efforts (i.e. volunteer mobilization, emotional and spiritual care, material resources to help families, etc.). Donations may be made here.

VOLUNTEER

This work would not be possible without hundreds of HEROIC volunteers, including those who have driven in locally, as well as Team Leads who have come in from around the country and are living in Waverly, TN at our local Volunteer Housing Camp for the month.

Prayerfully consider joining us in Waverly, TN now through October 1. We especially need Team Leads to guide volunteer groups with Muck & Gut and Debris Removal, but all hands are welcome and all skills can be helpful. Please contact Sherry Buresh: sherry.buresh@weinspirit.org.

Volunteer setting up Inspiritus' Water-on-Wheels Mobile Water Cart (W.O.W. Cart) donated by Waterstep.

Volunteers in Waverly, TN, helping to load supplies from the Distribution Resource Center

OUR PARTNERS

Inspiritus' teams could not serve without the support of our partners. The Southeastern Synod of the ELCA has generously provided a $10,000 contribution to help rapidly deploy Inspiritus teams to Waverly, TN. With this support, we are helping manage the Humphreys County Volunteer Reception Center, Volunteer Distribution Center, and the Volunteer Responders Housing Camp, while also training and deploying volunteer teams to assess and provide homeowners with debris removal and muck & gut services.

Partners collaborating with us include:

• The Southeastern Synod of the ELCA

• Lowe's

• International Orthodox Christian Charities

• Mennonite Disaster Services

• Airlink

• Information Technology Disaster Resource Center

• Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA)

• Tennessee Volunteer Organizations Active in Disasters (TN VOAD)

• Toolbank USA

• Humphreys County Emergency Management Office

• Incident Commander & Sheriff's Office

Please continue to join us in prayer for those families impacted, and for the strength of the volunteers serving on the ground now. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Virginia Spencer
Chief Development Officer
Inspiritus