Case Management Training Underway

By Tamica Smith Jeuitt, Senior Communications Specialist, Mississippi Conference

Photo right: Meet the Mississippi Conference case management trainees: Amanda Dollar, Tracy Luna, Jessie Cambell, Liz Johnson, Glossie Richards, Mary Sharkey, Teresa Anthony, Brackin Dawson, Jo Elliott, Mellie Jordan (coordinator) and Sue Rowland. (Not pictured: Jessie Terry, Cindy Hearn and Barry Hobson.) 

Photo below right: Christy Smith with United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) led case management training in Mississippi. She reminded participants that their role was to help survivors "adjust to their new normal."
 
Photo below left: The tornado that touched down in Holly Springs, Miss., destroyed this home along Highway 7. The picture was taken nearly one month after the twister.

This week a small group is in Holly Springs, Miss. participating in case management training led by United Methodists. They are learning how to provide assistance to the communities impacted by an outbreak of severe weather that occurred Dec. 23-28, 2015. Holly Springs, located in Marshall County, was hit by a deadly tornado that caused widespread damage in the county and in Tippah and Benton counties. 
 
Among those viewing the aftermath, in the early hours following the storms, was Rev. David Cumbest, the Mississippi Conference disaster coordinator and Mellie Jordan, Mississippi Conference disaster case manager coordinator. Jordan said what she saw reminded her of the twister nearly two years earlier that devastated the Winston County city Louisville where she lives. Unsurprisingly, Jordan was troubled by the recent devastation. 
 
"It is heartbreaking. I can empathize with the people...that flood of emotions of what it felt like when it happened to us and then I was also feeling a calling or a need to be there so that we can offer hope to people who don't know what they are going to do to recover," said Jordan.
 
Thanks to United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) people who are trying to recover, (particularly those uninsured and underinsured) the case management trainees will be able to offer them guidance around recovery. UMCOR is leading case management training in Mississippi. Its philosophy of care presents a holistic plan for recovery that addresses physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the survivor.
 
The trainees are typically locals from the affected communities. After completion of the case management exercise, participants will hit ground organizing teams in their designated communities to focus on recovery.    
 
The training site is at Asbury United Methodist Church in Holly Springs. Anyone who would like more information about future case management training in Mississippi can contact Mellie Jordan at 662-736-6362 or mellie.jordan@gmail.com.
 
Mississippians affected by the storms are urged to register for federal assistance.  Click here to visit the Mississippi Emergency Management website for more information.   
 
The Mississippi Conference remains faithful to long-term disaster recovery.