LYNDEN – When Elizabeth Vicente heard the emergency sirens as severe flooding hit Whatcom County recently, she also heard the call to serve her community.

“Can I do something? I need to do something,” said Vicente, a member of St. Joseph Parish in Lynden.

Parishioners started donating food, clothing and cash for nearby hard-hit farming communities like Sumas and Everson. Vicente created a Facebook page in Spanish and a resource center in the parish hall where the Latino community would feel comfortable seeking assistance.

“I have never planned anything like this,” Vicente said.

The impromptu center started serving families three times a week, a few hours each day.

“I know there are so many more,” Vicente said. “It is very tough times right now. We help them as much as we can.”

Food donations are organized at St. Joseph Parish in Lynden to help people affected by the recent floods. Photo: Courtesy Elizabeth Vicente

Waves of assistance

Although the floods may have receded from the thoughts of some living outside the flood zones, people still need help recovering from the disaster.

Catholic Community Services of Western Washington is in the thick of making sure people are “safe and secure,” said Andrea Cunningham, the operations coordinator for CCS Northwest.

CCS’ first wave of support began before Thanksgiving, when the rivers began rising. Employees switched from their usual case work to disaster case management relief.

With funding from the Whatcom Community Foundation Resilience Fund, CCS workers began purchasing and distributing waterproof totes to help evacuating residents salvage items, cleaning supplies to mop up, and fans to dry out soggy homes. They also began the task of finding immediate emergency housing for displaced residents in hotels as well as Airbnb and seasonal migrant housing facilities. 

CCS is in the middle of the second wave of assistance — housing people displaced from their homes and temporary shelters and continuing to provide necessities like food and diapers. CCS does not do the work alone, coordinating with organizations like North Sound Accountable Community Health, Whatcom Emergency Operations Center and the Red Cross, Cunningham said.

They can’t “anticipate what’s next,” Cunningham said, but she knows the need will continue through the holidays and likely into the coming year.

Focus on farmworkers

The Mount Vernon-based CCS Farmworker Center is helping flood victims with motel assistance, emergency food and other services, manager Mary Wahl said in an email.

Immediate needs for farmworkers include blankets, rubber boots and “everything you can imagine,” as well as long-term needs since “many are without flood insurance,” said Jose Ortiz, a CCS Northwest regional network builder serving Latino and farmworker communities.

“This will be a disaster for a long time to come,” Ortiz said.

Help also comes from the Tri-Parish Food Bank at St. Charles Parish in Burlington — a cooperative of St. Charles, Sacred Heart Parish in La Conner and Immaculate Conception Parish in Mount Vernon. The food bank, which is serving more than 400 families a week, ramps up its efforts during a crisis like this, Ortiz said.

For the Agape Service Project, a ministry of the archdiocese that serves the migrant community during the summer, the flooding has emphasized the need for a year-round hub to provide services and resources for the Spanish-speaking community, said director Kelsey Harrington.


How to help

Donations can be made to the Whatcom Community Foundation Resilience Fund, which provides funding for flood recovery efforts by CCS and other organizations.