‘We’re hurting’: Cedar Rapids woman hopes sharing her story calls attention to those still struggling with derecho recovery

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa – The cry for help of, “We’re hurting,” was made too many times to count by eastern Iowans in the immediate aftermath of the Aug. 10 derecho.

Nearly nine months later, a Cedar Rapids woman is still making that plea on behalf of people, like herself, who say they did not get all the assistance they need.

“People need help here,” Kimmy Schmadeke said.

Schmadeke has lived in a trailer on Cedar Rapids’ southwest side for more than 20 years.

“Water was running down the walls, and the roof was caving in and literally falling in. It was just bad,” Schmadeke said. “It has to be completely gutted and everything replaced in it.”

The total cost for all her repairs is around $22,000, according to Schmadeke, who does not have insurance and works part-time as a taxicab driver.

She made multiple trips to the FEMA Assistance Center at Veterans Memorial Stadium, filled out online forms, and even wrote a letter.

And three times, her full request for assistance was denied.

She said the third denial was the most difficult, as FEMA’s requests for additional documentation at that point made her hopeful that appeal would lead to a more fruitful outcome.

“It just knocked the wind out of me,” she said. “I was — sorry, I’m going to get emotional — it just killed me, because I didn’t know how I was going to fix all this stuff.”

“And there are hundreds,” Schmadeke said. “Hundreds. I meet them every night, driving taxis, and they tell me their stories and how FEMA didn’t help them, their insurance isn’t covering them, and they’re fighting their insurance companies.”

The story made the front page of The Post on Monday and caught the attention of people who wanted to help Schmadeke to fill the gaps where the government didn’t.

The local organization Matthew 25, which worked on some of Schmadeke’s repairs, set up a GoFundMe for her after so many people reached out, wanting to donate. In just over 24 hours, it had raised more than $15,000.

She hopes her story persuades FEMA to make changes to its disaster assistance program to better serve the people who need help.

“But most importantly, I think the people that are hurting like me just need to come out of the woodwork and tell their story,” she said.

While TV9 was interviewing Schmadeke on Tuesday, a representative from 1st District Congresswoman Ashley Hinson’s office stopped by to talk with her.

“Our district is still reeling from the derecho and FEMA’s response has, frankly, been inadequate to help people recover from the destruction and devastation the derecho left in its wake — Kim’s story and experience is all too common. I’m hopeful we can help Kim, and any others in Iowa’s first district who have experienced issues with FEMA’s individual assistance program,” Hinson said in a statement to TV9.

FEMA said it has provided more than $11 million dollars in grants to more than 3,000 households the derecho impacted, mostly in Linn County.

FEMA spokesperson John Mills said people can still offer documentation of damage they have not already reported.

Mills said FEMA also isn’t allowed by law to duplicate any insurance benefits or other assistance provided by a charitable group or another government program.