Economic & Human Impact of Flooding On The Arc of Yates & Community

Many are aware of the severe flooding that took place in Yates County last week. Not once but twice. Small businesses and individual home owners were all hit hard in various parts of the county. Roads and other infastructure was also seriously impacted. Penn Yan and Branchport were hardest hit. Some damage can be seen easily but there's a lot that someone passing by may not see or understand immediately. Water flooded basements where many businesses stored supplies and inventory. Mechanical equipment also tends to be in basement areas. Much is lost or destroyed and some people are struggling with issues around if they can ever re-open or return to their home. All of this is heartbreaking for the people going through it, for neighbors and friends. The community has pulled together in a positive and wonderful fashion. County and municipal officials have done a great job along with non profit groups, Churches and disaster relief agencies.

There is a story though that needs to be told about an organization that also got hit extremely hard. I'm referring to The Arc of Yates, a non profit that provides supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The Arc does this on a daily basis in a quiet way, making sure people have the supports they need to live as independently as possible. During last week's storms, The Arc's  day habilitation and work center site on North Ave. was flooded and re-flooded after an initial clean up had begun. For most of the week many people were without employment or program support from The Arc. I don't know the exact number but when you count employees out of work and people not receiving supports, you're probably talking about well over 200 or perhaps 300 people. Think about that from an economic impact perspective.... And then there's the cost of not just the clean up but all of the repairs and maintenance. I've heard estimates of $200 to $300k but who knows what the total will be in the end. The Arc has insurance and I'm sure it's a good policy but it certainly won't cover everything. In addition to the North St. building, The Arc operates a number of homes for people with disabilities. I would guess a number of these have been impacted by water in basements and yards.

The people at The Arc are good and smart people who work their hearts out to make life easier for one of the community's most vulnerable populations. They get a lot of important and well deserved government funding for the job they do but they also get cut when people want to reduce budgets. In addition they have to raise dollars to take up the slack when funds don't match service needs. This latest challenge is hitting them hard and many people may not understand first, the important work they do as well as the economic impact they have on the Yates County community. Obviously everyone deserves help and support when this kind of natural disaster strikes. I just want to urge people not to forget The Arc, its employees and the people with disabilities that they support during this hard time. Here is a link to a way that you can help The Arc directly as they go through this expierience. Help Restore The Arc of Yates