On June 11, 2023, muddy water from a nearby construction site flooded into our building. It was a Sunday morning, so the building was empty. The water flowed through the main building, ruining floors, soaking drywall, drenching carpet, damaging bathroom fixtures.
But those things can be fixed. The harm to our clients, who depend on the services and programs we provide, is infinitely more difficult to repair.
“The disruption of services was devastating to our clients and heartbreaking to us,” said Eve Anthony, ACCA President and CEO. “The senior adults we serve – whom we love – thrive on the reliability of our programs and services; many felt abandoned.”
Traumatic. Disruptive. Disorienting. Depressing. These are just a few of the ways our clients and their families have described the impact of the flood on their lives.
What happened?
We believe that an AT&T crew working on a public-private housing development adjacent to our facility ruptured a section of the conduit containing cable/telephone wiring. After further investigation, we determined that the exposed conduit led into the ACCA electrical control room, and when a thunderstorm rumbled through soon after the break, the ACCA building was flooded. Despite repeated requests for financial assistance with the recovery, AT&T has not offered support.
What does it mean?
As a non-profit organization, we manage our finances carefully. We are grateful for the support of our donors and sponsors, for the funding we receive from the communities we serve, and for grants that support programs. We do not have a contingency capable of addressing the unexpected costs resulting from the flood. And the lack of response from the party we believe to be responsible for the damage is disheartening.
Participation in the Center for Active Living, a fee-based ACCA service, is down by 50%. We retained legal counsel, which is an out-of-pocket expense that was not included in the budget. We took out a line of credit to pay for partial repairs and are leasing space for its Senior Center to meet. The Meals on Wheels program carries a waiting list, and we are not able to resolve that issue because of ongoing flood expenses. More than a dozen programs that use space in the flood-damaged facility had to be moved, merged, rescheduled, or canceled.
How can you help?
People who want to stay up to date with ACCA’s events, programming, volunteer opportunities or make a donation can visit www.accaging.org or call (706) 549-4850.
More Coverage
Click Here to read the article published by the Athens Banner-Herald on July 1, 2024.