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A family surveys the storm damage the
day after the tornado hit. | The Minnesota Helps – North Minneapolis Recovery Fund was created to respond to the immediate and long-term needs of the individuals, families, nonprofits, and businesses impacted by the devastating tornado and storm that struck North Minneapolis on May 22, 2011. Since the fund was created the day after the
tornado hit, $1.6 million has been raised from generous community
members, foundations, and businesses, and $1.4 million has been
distributed to 33 different agencies serving those impacted. | Agencies in the Northside and beyond have swiftly and remarkably responded to the needs of those impacted by this disaster. The following summary is a snapshot of the services provided by grantees that have reported their activities by September 30, 2011. This is the first report on the progress of the Fund and includes information from both interim and final reports of 11 organizations. Additional reports will be shared when activities conclude. The area of children and youth is heavily represented in this report, reflecting the ending of summer programs for young people. The 11 organizations represented in this report received a combined total of $352,660 from the Minnesota Helps Fund and were able to leverage an additional $790,000 to support similar efforts for tornado relief and recovery. These agencies overwhelmingly reported it was critical for them to have funds available to help meet basic needs, structural repairs, and services for children and youth. Below is a listing of grantees, reportable outcomes, and recommendations. 
Food donations to Second Harvest
| Nearly 60,000 individuals received basic needs support from the City of Minneapolis' Disaster Recovery Center, Second Harvest Heartland, and/or Project for Pride in Living. Most of the basic needs support was for food distribution immediately following the tornado, and food distribution throughout the summer. Minnesota Helps Fund grantees helped/provided: - 1,200 individuals received clean clothes, food and water from the Disaster Recovery Center. Additional supplies were distributed to help clean their homes and meet minimum needs until additional assistance was provided, including provision of new ID's, access to food stamps, housing assistance, behavioral health services, and other services.
- 185,393 pounds of food ordered by and delivered to Second Harvest Heartland's North Minneapolis partner agencies at no charge.
| - Over 51,000 individuals received food supplies over the course of the tornado's aftermath through Second Harvest Food Bank.
- 73 adults and six families in Project for Pride in Living's housing received beds and 2 families were reimbursed for hotel stays.
- 100 families received additional support for shelter, furniture and other supplies including gift cards, transportation, etc.
The Northside Community Response Team (NCRT) has provided overall management of needs of those impacted by the tornado. The largest area for direct assistance was for housing related assistance followed by basic needs support and direct financial support. Minnesota Helps Fund grantees helped/provided: - 1,233 families access for assistance.
- 711 individuals further assessed, received case managed with recovery plans.
- 190 families received rental/mortgage assistance.
- 96 families received household items to replace damaged items.
- 96 children received trauma intervention and counseling services.
EMERGE volunteers help clean up the Northside
| Thousands of children and youth participated in
summer enrichment activities throughout the summer through the Boys and
Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, North Community YMCA, EMERGE Community
Development, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, YWCA of Minneapolis,
and Tree Trust. Much of the funding supported the expansion of existing
programs by providing additional scholarships and extending programming
throughout the summer to those impacted by the tornado. | Summer youth employment efforts provided an economic boost for the youth and families. Over the summer, youth cleaned over 200 sites representing individual homes and public places, and provided direct repair to 147 houses and rental units were completed throughout the summer. These grantees also provided basic needs, such as, food and meals as part of the Children and Youth Category. Minnesota Helps Fund grantees helped/provided: - 1,697 youth participate in summer programming services through the Boys and Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities, North Community YMCA, Boys and Girls Club of the Twin Cities, and YWCA Minneapolis.
- 6,782 meals served to youth.
- 212 youth participated in field trips.
- 25 youth and young adults provided debris removal, cleaning and painting
services to 200 families through EMERGE's StreetWerks Program.
- 17 youth provided park restoration and clean
up services near their own homes and neighborhood through Minneapolis
Park and Recreation Board and EMERGE Community Development.
- 300 meals served to families attending Safe Night Out.
- Partnerships with Urban Homeworks, Tree Trust and
Minneapolis Park and Recreation allowed an additional 6 youth to assist
61 individuals to rehab/rebuild North Minneapolis homes and rental
units through Tree Trust.
As the Minnesota Helps Fund Advisory Committee continues to review applications, members will carefully consider the next phase for prioritizing the remaining funds to support emerging needs and recovery efforts in North Minneapolis. Based on initial reports from grantees, the following areas of concern were identified: Continued immediate support for: - Financial assistance and basic needs.
- Advocacy or support in getting insurance companies to pay for needed repairs and replacements.
- Financial assistance to help un or under-insured individuals and families.
- Legal help to track down and be reimbursed by the
"storm chaser" contractors who accepted payment and then did not do the
work or did sub-par work and now cannot be contacted.
- Providing home owners and distressed landlords
with the resources mentioned above would speed up the home repair
process and help the neighborhood recover.
Long term strategies created for: - Counseling for children, youth and families (Post Traumatic Stress)
- Youth development activities
The Minnesota Helps - Northside Recovery Fund will continue to review applications until funds are no longer available. Grantees will continue to provide updates through scheduled Interim and Final Reports. A final reporting of outcomes and lessons learned will be shared with the community after activities conclude. Thanks to all the generous individuals who gave their time and money to help those impacted recover and the many organizations working together to rebuild this vibrant part of our community. |