A “one-stop shop” is opening to help Jefferson City and Eldon tornado victims get back on their feet. Whether damage to your property is minor or major, a unified front of about 30 nonprofits wants to help victims bounce back.

A wide range of support is being offered, including gift cards, emotional and spiritual care, food, housing, insurance and legal information, food stamp replacement services, emergency financial assistance, health and wellness services and much more.

The Jefferson City location will be at The Linc, a wellness and recreation center, from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday.
In Eldon, the center will be at the First Church of the Nazarene from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday.

At a press conference today in Jefferson City, Joe DeCock, with the Seventh Day Adventist Church, says the MARC, short for Multi-Agency Resource Center, aims to make the support process as easy as possible.

“It can be quite daunting to go through a process where there are so many things to do and they might not know what. We understand the process and we provide the personal guided service to each client that comes through – making sure they don’t miss any of the services provided,” DeCock says.

American Red Cross Board Chairman Gabe Hulsey says the nonprofits want to help things get back to normal.

“The Red Cross’s mission is to alleviate human suffering and we do that very well,” says Hulsey. “But we’re only one agency and this is a step really to bring all these other groups that do a lot of great things together and help with healing the community.”

Those applying for assistance must bring identification showing your address and proof of residence.

Here is a list of the organizations serving at the MARC:

Missouri Commission for Deaf and Hard of Hearing
Feeding Missouri
Capital City Diaper Bank
Department of Health and Senior Services
Missouri Area Agency on Aging
Missouri Association of Trial Attorneys
Missouri Department of Mental Health, Office of Disaster Services
Common Ground Community Building
Red Cross
Central Missouri Community Action
Jefferson City Area Board of Realtors, Inc.
Missouri Department of Insurance, Financial Institutions and Professional Registration (DIFP)
Compass Health Network
Community Health Center of Central Missouri
State Emergency Management Agency
Missouri Department of Agriculture
State Floodplain Management-SEMA
Mid-Missouri Legal Services
Salvation Army
Missouri Attorney General’s Office
Central Missouri Area Agency on Aging
Church of the Brethren – Children’s Disaster Services
The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services’ Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology
The Columbia Missouri Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint
University of Missouri Extension

If you need help or want to help with tornado cleanup, agency representatives at the press conference strongly urged people to call 211.

“What we’re hearing is that Jefferson Citians are not taking advantage of the help that’s available to them and I encourage you to do that,” says Deb Hendricks with the State Emergency Management Agency. “Some of the misconceptions are that if you ask, you’re taking help from someone else. That’s not the case. There’s plenty of help to go around.”

Those interested in lending a helping hand can show up at the Sears wing of Capital Mall in Jefferson City from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. through Sunday.

Material donations can be dropped off at Capital West Christian Event Center at 1315 Fairgrounds Road. The site will be open seven days a week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. until further notice. Click here for a list of items requested.

Victims can pick up items beginning Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and continuing indefinitely seven days a week. The hours could change, depending on the need for evening hours.

If you’d rather give money, that works too. Click here to submit a monetary donation.

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