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A home near Ellis Boulevard sits naked after construction crews removed all internal and external damage.
CEDAR RAPIDS — “You see, that’s the problem,” said Ed when he stopped mowing long enough to accept a bottle of cold water. “Everything has changed. What’s the world coming to when a man can’t even tend his yard without a reporter asking him why he’s doing it?”
Ed, who asked that his last name not be used, is one of thousands of residents who had a home or business within the more than nine square miles of Cedar Rapids that was directly impacted by the June floods. Like so many of his neighbors, family and friends, he is stuck in a waiting game.
“No one knows what the city is going to do,” he said. “I can’t get a straight answer from our insurance company, and the federal programs seem to be linked [to what the insurance companies decide]. We’ve done what we can — got our stuff that wasn’t ruined out and tried to gut the worst of the damage. Now we wait and see if we have something that we’re going to be able to save.”
A sidewalk across from the Great America Building on 1st Street SE in downtown Cedar Rapids was nearly washed away by swift flood waters.
It’s been eight weeks since the Cedar River reached a record-breaking 31.2 feet in Cedar Rapids. And, while progress has definitely been made and is continuing to be made in the recovery effort, mental health providers are preparing for different type of crest.
“We are still at the point where we are just seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Cindy Kaestner, executive director of Abbe Center for Community Mental Health. “There are beginning to be increased calls from some of the service providers, but its still too early to even get a handle on what we think volume is going to be.”
From speaking with mental health professionals in other states who have already gone through a natural disaster, Kaestner said similar professionals in Iowa believe a spike in those seeking and/or needing mental health services will take place between three and six months after such an event takes place.
“The timing has to do with the fact that there are basic concrete things that individuals focus on first,” she said. “There is that whole initial phase of shock, but then people move on to the nuts and bolts of finding out what they can do with their property. There are certain phases to disaster cycles that people go through and that the communities go through.”
Flood damage at the Great America Furniture Mart in downtown Cedar Rapids remains extensive despite efforts at clean-up. The final fate of many structures, including the nearby Cedar Rapids Public Library, remains unclear.
Kaestner said that when reality does set in, it is typically an economic one that can result in several manifestations or triggers.
“People are starting to get the economic information now and, unfortunately, there aren’t going to be quick answers to the government buy-out situation or to questions about the fate of specific neighborhoods,” she said. “Some people may now know or will soon learn how much they are eligible for through the government programs, insurance or other programs. Many times, there are going to be gaps. So, the financial realities start to become very evident. That’s when people start to see just how difficult this is going to be.”
In other communities that have dealt with natural disasters, the wake of the event left a trail of increased substance abuse, more incidents of domestic violence and, in general, people with short fuses.
“A lot of people do fine day-to-day while everything is clicking along, particularly on a financial level when they have jobs and money coming in,” Kaestner said. “Those individuals may not have needed any extra support or extra assistance in terms of mental or behavioral health needs. But if they’ve now lost their job — even those individuals who did not experience the flood at their residence, but their business or place of employment was affected — and there is no longer any income. That situation is going to create additional stress that may be just enough to create additional problems elsewhere in their life. So, historically that person may not have needed extra assistance, but this was just one more thing that may tip the scale.”
The Cedar Rapids Softball Hall of Fame has been completely gutted following the floods.
As people work through their personal aftermath with the flood, Kaestner said, the reactions, both good and bad, will be born of the individual’s interests and circumstance.
“I think [in terms of the man mowing the yard around his damaged house] that this was probably the one thing he could control,” she said. “You know, he could make his yard look nice. It could also be that this was an activity that he particularly enjoyed. I’ve heard people remark as they’ve been out looking at the flood-affected neighborhoods about how nice the yards look. ‘Just look at how nice that yard looks. They obviously want back in their home. They have so much pride in this piece of property.’ My guess would be that it makes these individuals feel better to do something, to have control over one aspect of what’s going on. When people can do something concrete, it makes them feel like they are moving forward.”
So close, but yet so far. One of the house boats from Ellis Harbor remains overturned on the banks of the Cedar River.
Although family members and close friends may be the first to notice a person consistently acting in ways outside of his or her normal character, individuals can still take stock of the amount of focus they are able to put into activities they’ve typically enjoyed.
“Perhaps you are a person that has typically read novels for enjoyment, but now you find that you can’t concentrate or focus on what you’re reading,” she said. “When you can no longer find enjoyment in the things that you previously like to do, that can signal problem. Also, if you are having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much. Maybe your appetite has been affected. These can all be signs that a person is having a difficult time dealing with the current situation and may need some support.
Parking between Siegel's Jewelry and Iowa Title in downtown Cedar Rapids is filled with debris as workers clear out the damage before rebuilding.
“By that same token, some individuals may respond by engrossing themselves in books or whatever they find enjoyable. That can be a problem too when it is being used as a way to completely escape and not deal with the current reality.”
The Abbe Center is the lead organization in Linn, Benton and Jones counties for federally-funded crisis counseling in the wake of the floods. In other counties that have received a Presidential disaster declaration, there are different community mental health organizations leading the local program. In the coming weeks, these organizations hope to establish grassroots support networks for those dealing with the aftermath of both the flooding and tornado disasters in Iowa. Sometimes, according to Kaestner, a person just needs an opportunity to talk to other people and tell his or her story.
“You’d be amazed how much it can help to just tell someone else what you are going through,” she said.
The federal grants, which came into Iowa through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, totaled $350,855 as of Aug. 1. The six organizations in addition to the Abbe Center that have contracted to provide stress counseling services are:
- Pathways Behavioral Services — Bremer, Cerro Gordo, Chickasaw and Floyd counties
- ResCare Inc. — Des Moines, Lee, Louisa, Mahaska and Wapello counties
- Backbone Area Counseling Center — Allamakee, Clayton, Delaware, Fayette and Winneshiek counties
- Waubonsie Mental Health Clinic — Adams, Fremont, Mills Page and Union counties
- Mid-Eastern Iowa Mental Health Center — Cedar and Johnson counties
- Mental Health Clinic of Tama County — Jasper and Tama counties
Individuals seeking crisis-counseling assistance can contact the providing organization directly or may phone the Iowa Concern Hotline at 1-800-447-1985. The hotline is operated by Iowa State University Extension Outreach.
