Volunteers Help Cash-Strapped Flood Victims Clean Molding, Stinking Belongings

A group of AmeriCorps NCCC members remove a flood-soaked mattress from Dearborn resident Betty Berry’s home and take it out to the trash. (Photo courtesy of Michigan Community Service Commission)

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By Jason Alexander | Communications Specialist, Michigan Community Service Commission

While many residents in Detroit and surrounding areas have managed to clean up their basements and start the recovery process after the flood, others still are dealing with damp, often moldy and putrid smelling belongings because they lack the financial resources to take care of problems.

The Michigan Community Service Commission, the state’s lead agency on volunteerism, has sent out volunteers to help those in the most desperate need as part of a partnership developed with several other volunteer organizations.

One of those residents needing to nelp dealing with the mess left behind in the Aug. 11 floods, the worst in metro Detroit in 90 years, was Alex Moslimani, of Dearborn, who estimated he had $80,000 worth of damage.

“What these guys have done is a miracle. They came in on a white horse.” – Flood victim Alex Moslimani

His children were living in his basement that filled up with nearly 3feet of water. He had worked tirelessly for days in efforts to clean up the mess, but couldn’t do it all himself.

Team Rubicon, a veterans and first-responders volunteer group that responds to disasters, with volunteers from the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps, a volunteer group that engages young people in community service, came to the rescue.

“What these guys have done is a miracle. They came in on a white horse,” Moslimani said. “What these people are doing is remarkable.”

The volunteers helped remove items, take out the drywall, and clean up the mess left behind. Moslimani said he was sitting in his living room the day before the flood and heard some sounds coming from downstairs, but didn’t think anything of it. The next morning when he walked in his basement, he was amazed as many of his belongings were floating in knee-deep water.

The Michigan Community Service Commission has been collecting data from residents in need through several Multi-Agency Resource Centers across southeast Michigan, a 2-1-1 hotline and an online form found here.

Groups are assessing the need and helping residents like Betty Berry, of Dearborn, who had a lifetime of items in her basement that were ruined by the flood. A heavy stench poured from her basement as volunteers hauled a wet mattress out to the trash on Friday.

“There are no words to express the thanks I have. It’s unbelievable there are such good people in the world,” Berry said. “I thanked God for them and I appreciate everything they are doing.”

The volunteers were in Dearborn Friday, but will help out in other affected communities in the metro.

If you need assistance in removing flood-affected belongings, mud, sand, or floodwater, gutting flood-affected walls (drywall/paneling) or disinfecting your house, volunteer organizations may be able to provide volunteers to assist in clean-up efforts.

To request volunteer help, complete the online Flood Cleanup Assistance Form.

You can also call 2-1-1 to request volunteer help.

There is no set timeline or guarantee for assistance, but volunteers are being mobilized to help those in the greatest need as quickly as possible.

The Michigan Community Service Commission utilizes service as a strategy to address the state’s most pressing issues and empowers volunteers to strengthen communities.