News & Photos
Five United Way Restore the Dream Centers Open To Meet Long Term Needs of Flood Victims
July 08, 2010
FIVE UNITED WAY RESTORE THE DREAM CENTERS OPEN TODAY TO MEET LONG TERM NEEDS OF FLOOD VICTIMS IN HARDEST HIT NEIGHBORHOODS
United Way Invests $500,000 To Expand Family Resource Centers’ Platform.
NASHVILLE, TN, July 8, 2010—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 will push them out to the areas that have been hardest hit, utilizing a “platform” it developed over the past decade to serve some of Nashville’s neediest neighborhoods.
United Way of Metropolitan Nashville and six of its partner agencies opened five Restore the Dream Centers today to 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. The Restore The Dream Centers utilize the same model used in United Way’s Family Resource Centers to enhance pre-kindergarten learning, provide financial counseling, and provide hot meals to the elderly.
United Way has already committed a half million dollars to get the Restore The Dream Centers open and to operate them through the balance of 2010. The organization has set out to raise as much as $2 million more through its Restore The Dream Fund to support operation of the Centers until 2012.
In making the announcement at the Bellevue United Way Restore The Dream Center, Gregg Morton, United Way’s 2010 Campaign Chair and CEO of AT&T Tennessee (pictured above), described the program as “the community’s organized long term broad solution to the human scars left by this disaster.” United Way Restore the Dream Centers opened today in Madison, Northwest Nashville, Bordeaux, Bellevue, and Antioch.
United Way and the partnering agencies analyzed data generated by more than 35,000 calls to the United Way 2-1-1 Helpline since May 1 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 have marshaled space in those areas and RTD Centers have already begun serving clients.
The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Conexión Américas, St. Luke’s Community House, and Matthew Walker Comprehensive Health Center have partnered with United Way to open and operate Restore The Dream Centers, each of which will be in place anywhere from six months to two years depending on needs and resources available.
The Centers will have on-site trained case managers who will work with individuals to design feasible solutions to meet their needs. Through a series of in-depth questions, the case managers will gain a thorough understanding of each victim’s specific needs and bring together the mix of services that victim will need to make progress toward restoring their life.
Among the many types of services that can be accessed by the network are affordable housing, legal assistance, depression treatment, employment counseling, and in-home specialists for elderly and other individuals with specialized needs.
Using United Way’s 2-1-1 Helpline resources database, case managers will be able to access more than 7,000 different resources including non-profit organizations, government programs, faith-based institutions and private companies who can provide help.
“There is still a lot of confusion about what is feasible for flood victims and many of them lack the time or resources to access all they need to make substantial progress in their recovery,” Morton said. “The beauty of this solution is that it recognizes the limitations many victims have and the importance of getting the help out to them in an informed, organized and user-friendly way.”
Individuals and families who need help can visit one of the Centers or connect with them by calling 2-1-1. There is no charge for the services provided at the Restore The Dream Centers.
United Way of Metropolitan Nashville has raised approximately $650,000 for its Restore The Dream Fund since it was re-activated in early May and has invested or committed $575,000 of that to flood relief initiatives of non-profit organizations in Middle Tennessee.
Contact: Phil Martin 268-8000
