NORRISTOWN — Yvonne Turner recalled the deluge of water as the remnants of Hurricane Ida moved through Montgomery County last month.
“It was a little scary obviously when you’re surrounded by 27 feet of water. But we got out. We feel very, very blessed,” Turner said in a phone interview with MediaNews Group.
Turner shares a residence at Riverview Landing Apartments in Norristown with her brother, her adult son and his spouse. While Turner said her family “lost three vehicles,” in the Sept. 1 storm, they were able to escape the floodwaters in Norristown.
According to figures from the National Weather Service, the Norristown stretch of the river crested at 26.85 feet as of 10:15 a.m. on Sept. 2, which was considered 13 feet above the flood stage.
“We fortunately live on a floor where the window backs up to the roadway, so some people in our complex did not have the option, but we had the option to climb out of the window and make our way out of the complex,” she said.
More than a month after the storm rocked the region, Turner called herself “fortunate,” acknowledging that her own “home was still in tact,” and noted that the vehicles lost in the flood have since been “replaced.”
Turner, who works as an administrative assistant in the Montgomery County Commissioners Office, said she wanted to lend a helping hand to her neighbors and others who’ve been displaced as a result of the storm by serving as a hotel ambassador.
Photo courtesy Oscar Gamble
Cars can be seen submerged in water in Bridgeport following flooding from the remnants of Hurricane Ida.According to Montgomery County Deputy Chief Operating Officer Barbara O’Malley, the program was launched out of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services. Seventeen county employees are working with 24 different hotels to house people impacted by flooding or damage from an EF-2 tornado that barreled through parts of Upper Dublin and Horsham townships.
“We have staff that go out to the hotels, and make sure people who go there get greeted, get this packet of information, that they go through everything that they’re welcomed that they know that there’s someone that can contact them and people have just been so appreciative of that,” O’Malley said in an interview earlier this month.
Turner agreed.
“A group of us were assigned to various hotels the county is using and we are the point of contact for the clients that are being referred to these hotels to help navigate their check-in process, and onboarding to the county program, and just being a sounding board for needs and concerns — obviously there are many at this stage for these residents,” she said. “[It’s] just being there to be a comfort, to assure them that the program is here to help them and provide the resources that they need to get through this difficult time.”
In the early days following the storm, an American Red Cross shelter was opened at Norristown Area High School, but has since closed.
Along with shelter opportunities, other services have been provided to residents impacted by the storm including, food, transportation and information about financial assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the established disaster recovery center at Montgomery County Community College’s Blue Bell campus.
Turner stressed the importance of connecting residents with a number of other support services such as retrieval of documents, mental health and more permanent housing solutions.
“All of the resources that we have at our disposal we’re trying to make sure that we make people aware of them so they can access them and use them to get back on their feet,” Turner said.
County officials recommended those in need to dial “211” or text their zip code to “898-211” to be connected with available services, including housing. For more information, visit montcopa.org/ida.
“As of this week, there are 169 households, totaling 392 people staying in 181 hotel rooms that are being paid for by the county while they await further aid,” said Montgomery County Commissioners’ Chairwoman Val Arkoosh. During the Oct. 21 meeting, she added that a total of 436 people in 208 households have been provided “with temporary hotel assistance since the start of the disaster.”
In addition to the hotel ambassador program, Turner said she also spends her time working as a hotel administrator, which means she helps coordinate the booking of rooms.
Turner noted that she’s is in communication with people staying at several hotels in the Valley Forge area, but many of her clients were living in Riverside Apartments, which she said “were right along the river in Norristown. Those apartments have been condemned. So these are people who are at a total loss.”
Turner added that her team of four other volunteers manages about 35 households. They’re tasked with “rotat[ing], and visiting the hotels, and checking in on the clients, making sure they have what they need.”
“It runs the gamut of I just need a little bit of help for a little bit of time to I don’t know where I’m going to go next,” she said.
She noted that the number of hotel rooms and length of stay varies on a case-by-case basis. However, those participating and receiving assistance through the county and its hotel ambassador program span a number of demographics including age, income, marital status, and developmental difficulties.
“You have some who are high touch, and they reach out a lot, and then you have those who are pretty self sufficient. Once you get the information to them they’re pretty good,” she said.
But she continues to help secure adequate shelter to people trying to pick up the pieces.
“It’s definitely been busy, but I’m a helper, so I find being able to be helpful very rewarding,” she said. “So being able to be in a position where I can do something to contribute to helping people get through probably one of the most difficult things that they’re ever going to experience … I’m just glad that I can be a help to somebody else, and it takes my mind off my own problems.”
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