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The Community News!
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By: A Contributor
When we think of the community, we think of the fact that we are all in it together. Whatever affects a part of the community will ultimately bring positive or negative to the community at large. Never has that been clearer than when the fire in Northern Arizona just ravaged nearly a half million acres of pristine forest. It was not just part of the community that felt the effects, it was all of the community.
When Joplin, Missouri fell victim to the elements, all of the community felt the pain. They will for many years to come. When the floods of New Orleans and Alabama came “knocking”,it was the entire community that prayed for help.
I feel now we are getting the message. We are a “community” of people. We are “one” people not many. We are in “this” together. Whether we like it or not. We are really in it together. Having said that, what are we to do. Well we need to remember that when the Titanic began to sink, survival was the glue that kept everyone focused. We need to keep focused of helping one another “survive”.
How? well those on government assistance, need to wake up and realize the coffers are empty and therefore need to train for and/or look for a plan “B”. Plan “B”! Yes! Get up and start to do something productive. When those men in Iraq found out that water used to rinse the floors and sidewalks in and around the jewelry district was flushed down storm drains, they climbed down and scratched through the the sewers looking for bits of precious metals. On hands and knees searching for those illusive and very microscopic pieces of gold or silver. They wanted to support their families. I am not here suggesting we all go down in the bowels of the cities looking for treasures, but I am saying there is a powerful lesson here. Stop thinking that Plan “A” is the only thing to do. Look at illegals walking hundreds of miles to get here to work. The operative word is work.
We have to work for a living. No, not work our lips with meaningless words, work on any legitamate job that will help us provide for our families. After all, Plan “A” will not always be here. We should give careful thought to making Plan “B” be our Plan “A”. Work hard and long for the sake of the community. Then and only then will we be able to help the community in times of need. If you doubt what I have just said, just read the article from Yahoo News below. You will become a believer!
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Tue Jun 14, 11:00 am ET
Citing ‘insufficient damage,’ FEMA rejects aid claims on homes battered by tornado
By Zachary Roth
When that tornado ripped through Alabama in late April, it turned Jonathan Stewart’s house into a pile of rubble.
Soon afterward, an inspector from the Federal Emergency Management Agency came to the house–or what remained of it, anyway–in Pleasant Grove, near Birmingham, where Stewart, his wife Lisa, and their two kids live. The inspector took pictures and notes, as part of a process to allow the Stewarts to get help from the disaster relief agency.
But a few days later, Stewart received a letter from FEMA. “Based on your FEMA inspection, we have determined that the disaster has not caused your home to be unsafe to live in,” the letter said. It informed Stewart that he didn’t qualify for a FEMA grant–in part because his home had suffered “insufficient damage.”
“Lisa and I looked at the letter and laughed,” Stewart told the Birmingham News.
The Stewarts weren’t alone. The home of Lashunta Tabb, who lives in a town nearby, had half its roof blown off and three damaged walls, and its siding stripped off. She said it’s uninhabitable. But FEMA also turned her claim down, citing the same reason: insufficient damage.
“Although the disaster may have caused some minor damage, it is reasonable to expect you or your landlord to make these repairs,” the letters received by both Tabb and the Stewarts said. “At this time you are not eligible for FEMA housing assistance.”
FEMA has said that people who think they were incorrectly turned down for aid should appeal the decision. But it said that less than 1 percent of those declared ineligible had done so.
In fact, Stewart said he has since found out that his insurance coverage will replace his house, meaning he’s ineligible for a FEMA grant anyway. But he added that he wonders how many other people there who might qualify for FEMA funds, but received that same “insufficient damage” finding, and abandoned the process in frustration.
FEMA has issued similarly head-scratching “insufficient damage” findings in response to several other recent disasters, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and Hurricane Dolly, which ravaged Texas in 2008. A pending lawsuit charges that the agency improperly denied aid to thousands of poor farm workers whose homes were badly damaged by Dolly.
But some say FEMA is in a no-win position. After the 2004 Florida hurricanes and Hurricane Katrina, the agency came in for heavy criticism from both Congress’s General Accounting Office and detractors in the press, for paying out money to people who shouldn’t have qualified.
“In Katrina they lost so much money because they were not careful about payout,” Clare Rubin, a disaster management consultant, told the News. “The GAO hit them hard.”
Next I will explore how the rest of us can act like we are a “community”. Stay tuned for next week!
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