CADILLAC — Temple Hill Baptist Church in Cadillac has partnered with the national faith-based organization Focus on the Family to provide assistance to residents grappling with the aftermath of recent flooding.
Volunteers offered immediate help, including yard work and appliance removal. Property owner Dan Broton praised the assistance, noting the difficulty of finding help when many people in the area are also dealing with damage.
Broton said, “We’re not really familiar with a lot of people here and everybody has all this damage or so much damage and turmoil and cleanup needs to be done, that it’s hard to find people.”
They also distributed gift baskets and gift cards and informational resources, particularly on Leeson Street. The organizations are also offering free mental health therapy this Saturday for affected homeowners.
Residents are facing not only floodwaters but also raw sewage coming through drains, leading to widespread fear and uncertainty weeks after the flooding began.
Temple Hill Baptist Church initially hosted a block party a week after the flooding to assess community needs. This effort revealed that many people primarily needed to talk and feel heard to process their experiences.
Pastor Andy Brubaker, pastor of Temple Hill Baptist Church, noted that many people were overwhelmed with a sense of loss. Brubaker said, “I think a lot of people were just overwhelmed with a sense of loss. And how do we deal with this? How do we move on? How do we rebuild not only our homes, but our lives after this?”
He observed that residents had suppressed their emotions while dealing with the immediate crisis, but these feelings are now surfacing as the water recedes.
Brubaker stated, “Initially, it was the stress of we just got to get the water out. But now that the water is gone and receding out of a lot of homes, people are starting to have to face these emotions that they’ve been kind of suppressing and and pushing back while they had to deal with the immediate crisis.”
Homeowner Drew Moriarty reported more than five feet of sewer water in his basement and weeks later, water was still entering through the floor. Moriarty said, “there’s still water coming through the floor. So there’s still I mean, it’s maybe an inch of water or two inches, but it’s still pretty much the entire basement.”
While Moriarty has a local family support system, he acknowledged the crucial role volunteers play for others who may not. He highlighted that “sometimes the people that are checking on them, like this door to door might be the only checking that they get.”
Focus on the Family volunteers from Greenville, including General Manager Micah Steiner and volunteer Tenille Bradley, traveled to Cadillac to assist.
Steiner expressed the organization’s desire to contribute where possible, stating, “We don’t we don’t know how to help. And honestly, we don’t know if we can do that much, but we’re just we want to help where we can.”
Bradley emphasized the emotional toll of natural disasters and personal loss. She said, “There’s a lot of trauma that can happen with natural disasters and flooding and basements and not just not even having your stuff that’s in the your personal belongings that are destroyed. So we’re just here to love on people.”
The church itself experienced flooding in its parking lot and garage but was able to save the main building from significant damage. Pastor Brubaker conveyed the church’s deep empathy for residents who have lost everything. He stated, “to look at these people just losing everything and not having the ability to, to really be able to to move forward. It breaks our heart and we wish we could do more.”
He added that homeowners are emotionally exhausted, particularly due to anxiety and fear about what comes next and whether insurance will cover their damages.
Focus on the Family will provide free mental health therapy this Saturday from one to 4 p.m. at Temple Hill Baptist Church.