JOPLIN, Mo. —
A center to provide social services and recreational programs to tornado survivors living in the Federal Emergency Management Agency mobile home parks will be funded by tornado recovery donations made to the Heart of Missouri United Way of Columbia.
Funding of $181,100 was presented Tuesday at Joplin’s City Hall to pay for the installation of a modular building that will serve as a clearinghouse and office space for organizations to provide services to residents displaced by the May 22 tornado who are living in temporary housing provided via FEMA mobile homes. The Joplin City Council last week approved use of city-owned land in the Officer Jeff Taylor Memorial Park near the airport for the building.
Organizations that will be on-site after the office is installed will include the Joplin Family Y, Sisters of Mercy Health System, Ozark Center, Freeman Health System, the Joplin School District, the Alliance of Southwest Missouri, Legal Aid, Lafayette House and Rebuild Joplin.
Jerrod Hogan, who represents Rebuild Joplin and the United Way of Southwest Missouri and Southeast Kansas, said the grant for the building is being made from $1.6 million that was collected for tornado victims as the result of efforts by former Joplin resident Brent Beshore, who is a Columbia United Way board member.
Hogan said Beshore set up a website shortly after the tornado struck to collect donations for assistance to victims. Money from those donations also was contributed shortly after the storm to Bright Futures, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and the Economic Security Corp. to assist victims with things such as food, clothing, shelter and transportation.
Hogan said it was decided that the money should be used “to do what we could to shorten and improve the recovery” of the people who have the least resources.
He said United Way representatives learned that over time, victims also would need help recovering emotionally. Counseling and health services will be accessible at the center.
Kathy Gray of the Joplin Family Y said recreational programs for children and adults will be offered.
Ashley Micklethwaite, who works at St. John’s Mercy Hospital and is president of the Joplin Board of Education, said the school district will offer tutoring to schoolchildren at the center. Mercy will provide community dinners and resiliency groups. The Alliance of Southwest Missouri will provide bicycle safety information and equipment to children. Micklethwaite said the services are being taken to those who live in the parks so that residents who are suffering emotionally from the effects of the tornado or who do not have ready transportation do not have to travel to get help.
She said those offering the services hope to help residents relocate in better circumstances than they had before the storm.
Opening
THE CENTER should open in mid-February, officials said.
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