Contact:         Jim Gemmell

                     Director of Communications, YAI

                     207.523-5014; jgemmell@youthalternatives.org

Recent Flooding in Aroostook County

Increases Calls to 2-1-1Maine for Assistance

Maine’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA) Counts on 2-1-1Maine

PORTLAND (May 20, 2008) — Just a few days after 2-1-1Maine, the state’s health and human services information and referral line, opened its phone lines and started answering calls in 2006, a Mother’s Day flood in York County prompted several phone calls from people seeking information on what to do in the aftermath of severe flooding.  Most of the requests, said Karen Turgeon, Director of 2-1-1Maine for YAI/Youth Alternatives Ingraham, revolved around basic necessities; where they could find shelter, food, or fresh drinking water.  For answers, the people at 2-1-1Maine immediately contacted Maine’s Emergency Management Agency (EMA).  This was the beginning of a vital relationship, one that would prove crucial during crises, storms, and other natural disasters, including the recent flooding in Aroostook County.  “We’ve been working with the state ever since the York County flood,” said Turgeon  “Since then, we have developed relationships with different community organizations around disaster preparedness.”   Also, in the immediate aftermath of such a disaster, Turgeon and her staff work closely with the effected towns.  This, she said, helps them respond accurately to the many different questions and requests for information about infrastructure and town services; what are the driving conditions, which roads are washed out, is the water safe to drink and use, or what parts of the sewer system is down.  Requests from callers run the gamut from people wanting to know the FEMA (the Federal Emergency Management Agency) application process to business owners wanting to know if it is okay to open up their stores.  And, she said, “we hear a lot of sad stories; my home’s destroyed, we’ve got to tear it down, or my house is still standing but all the land around it is gone.”  

The relationships that 2-1-1Maine developed with EMA and other community organizations since the York County flooding of 2006 have paid off.  When a major storm hit the area last year on Patriots Day, wreaking havoc in both York and Cumberland Counties, Turgeon said they were better prepared for the increased volume of calls.  “With each major storm,” she said, “we have become more prepared for the variety of calls and requests we receive.” In fact, Turgeon and her staff have developed a protocol with EMA for how EMA managers use 2-1-1Maine after a natural disaster.  This protocol involves registering people when they call for help and providing this information in daily reports to the EMA. This registration process proves very effective in getting accurate accounts of the damage and the clean up and repair costs involved.  Prior to this protocol, said Turgeon, people were going to multiple agencies to register their damage, and Maine’s EMA wouldn’t know the totality of the damage until weeks after the actual event.  Of course, this prolonged the time it took for FEMA to make the official “disaster area” declaration needed for federal money.  As a result of this new protocol, when the most recent flooding occurred in Aroostook County in early May, FEMA was able to declare the County a disaster area just nine days after the flooding. 

While natural disaster information is an important aspect of the work 2-1-1Maine performs for communities throughout Maine, it is only a small part of what this vital service has to offer. “We receive between 200 and 300 calls a day, said Turgeon.  These include everything from psychiatric referrals, outpatient therapy, and requests for shelter, to questions regarding appropriate health care, child care, or legal assistance.  And, of course this winter the heating issue was huge, said Turgeon.

Now approaching its third year, 2-1-1Maine is a collaboration of YAI/Youth Alternatives Ingraham, United Ways of Maine, and the state of Maine.

For more information on 21-1Maine, or to set up an interview for your programming or publication, please contact:

Jim Gemmell:

(207) 523-5014

jgemmell@youthalternatives.org