The town of High River is helping frustrated flood victims navigate the province’s Disaster Recovery Program.
Some, like Walter Thornhill, have received some DRP cash, but not enough to offset what he’s paid out of pocket.
And he’s wondering when the province will respond.
“I appealed, they received my appeal on the 14th of April”, says Thornhill.
“So we’re seven months later and I’m still waiting.”
And he’s not alone.
It’s estimated there are 700 families going through the DRP process, with half of them in High River.
To help them, the town has set up classes that explain the ins and outs of the process.
You can think of it as DRP school.
“The first two classes filled up instantly and we had a waitlist” says Eleanor MacDonald, a community outreach worker in the town.
The classes are designed to help flood victims file stronger appeals with better and quicker outcomes.
“If we can do anything at all to help the residents of high river get through this and do it in a way that preserves and maintains more of their energy for what’s important in life, that’s exactly where we want to go”, says MacDonald.
We’re having to fight for certain things we think are important. They’re responsive, but it’s like trying to turn around the Titanic”, adds Jim Ross of the High River DRP Advocacy Committee.
The town has scheduled more classes to help meet the demand.
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