• Courtney Culpepper

Local Agencies Partner to Bring Jamestown Residents Home

Denver, CO (February 20, 2014) –  It has been five months since the rains first poured over Colorado, and the world stopped for residents who watched their possessions wash away.  Since that time, life has moved on for many survivors, able to return home and slowly rebuild what was lost. 

In the small mountain community of Jamestown, though, severe infrastructure damage caused by the Colorado floods continues to keep residents out.  This week, The Salvation Army and the American Red Cross partnered to bring home 17 Jamestown families—purchasing 1,650-gallon cisterns to provide the residents with clean water.

For these 17 families, a sustained, clean source of household water was the single turn-key issue standing between them and moving back into their homes; without such a source of water, the residences were deemed uninhabitable despite otherwise being livable.

”The residents of Jamestown are resilient and very committed to their community,” said Sherry Manson, Salvation Army Emergency Disaster Services Director.  “The water cisterns will enable many to return which will help restore the sense of community and foster a quicker recovery for Jamestown.” Manson spearheaded The Salvation Army’s relief efforts following the floods and witnessed the devastation in Jamestown first-hand. 

The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army each have contributed $15,000 towards the $30,000 project. They purchased the cisterns from Mile Hi Water, a local company based in Boulder County.

“It was important to us to invest relief and recovery dollars into local businesses as a way to further contribute towards the long-term recovery of our flood-affected communities,” said George Sullivan, Director of Community Resilience and Preparedness for the Red Cross of Colorado. “In addition to helping the Jamestown families, this project is also helping inject strength into the local economy.”

This week, Mile Hi Water began visiting the homes of 17 families to install the 1,650-gallon cisterns.  Residents will work directly with Mile Hi Water to set up individual delivery and installation of their household cisterns.

The American Red Cross and The Salvation Army will continue to partner with one another and to be there for Colorado residents impacted by natural disaster.