Recovery Brings People Together
After floods devastated counties in Missouri in May 2017, Ozark Vitality received a grant from the Midwest Early Recovery Fund. The grant will support Ozark Vitality’s efforts to develop a whole community recovery approach to help rural, isolated communities like Van Buren, Missouri recover better. They’re working to ensure that individuals and families faced with rebuilding their homes have the tools and information necessary to make good decisions that will impact their lives for years to come.
Part of Ozark Vitality’s work includes a flood buddy program which is bringing together people that have experienced similar disasters to discuss lessons learned and share insights. Recently, representatives from Columbus Junction, Iowa travelled to Van Buren to meet with community and business leaders and share learnings from their own flood experiences. They also joined the community fish fry and had a chance to meet other flood survivors, share stories and get everyone excited about the program. By the end of the night, great memories were made and new friendships were formed.