Macomb, IL – Those impacted by last year's massive flooding along the Mississippi River will have several chances in the coming weeks to share their insights.
Group discussions will be hosted by two anthropologists from Western Illinois University. Heather McIlvaine-Newsad and David Casagrande hope to use the information to help develop better disaster response policies.
Refreshments will be served at the group discussions, which will be held at three locations:
Saturday March 7
Bott Community Center in Warsaw
1:00pm - 2:30pm
3:00pm - 4:30pm
Monday March 9
Henderson County Health Department, Gladstone
1:00pm - 2:30pm
3:00pm - 4:30pm
Wednesday March 18
Pontoosuc Village Hall
5:00pm - 6:30pm
7:00pm to 8:30pm
The researchers would like people to RSVP. Casagrande's phone number is (309) 298-1567. They also say flood victims can also simply stop by to participate.
Casagrande says they've already met with flood victims individually. "So far, I've been surprised at how willing people are (to talk)," says Casagrande. "Nobody has said they didn't want to do an interview."
McIlvaine-Newsad says, "I think people find it a pretty therapeutic experience to share their stories, and for us it's been really insightful."
They hope the group discussions will allow people to talk to each other - to their friends and neighbors. Casagrande says this might make them more comfortable and might allow more ideas to come out.