CHINLE, AZ — An effort to connect Navajo Nation veterans with the benefits they earned through military service turned into a much larger mission after flooding devastated parts of the reservation.
The Disabled American Veterans organization (DAV) brought food, water, clothing, tarps and other supplies to Chinle as volunteers worked to help residents recover from flooding that damaged homes and displaced families.
Dr. Carl Forkner, adjutant and CEO for DAV's Department of Arizona and the organization's national advisor for Native American outreach, said the organization originally planned a veterans benefits seminar for Nov. 4. But after flooding hit the area over two consecutive weekends, the mission expanded to include disaster relief.
"Everybody was packed to the gills with all kinds of food and tarps and clothes and everything you can imagine that they needed," Forkner said. "And water, especially, is a big deal."
The outreach took place at Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Church in Chinle. After a seminar explaining veterans benefits, eight DAV service officers helped veterans and surviving spouses navigate the Department of Veterans Affairs claims process.
Other volunteers distributed donated supplies, while Forkner and Angel Smith, a DAV National Service Office supervisor, screened residents for emergency financial assistance.
Forkner said DAV representatives spent three days working with veterans and surviving spouses, serving 175 members of the veteran community and providing $118,000 in financial assistance through the DAV National Disaster Relief Program.
The program provides $500 checks for certain household losses, including spoiled food and damaged belongings, and $1,000 checks for people displaced from their homes who need help paying for temporary lodging. Assistance is limited to once per household every three years.
More than 20 veterans lost their homes in the flooding, Forkner said. Permanent housing assistance and home replacement fall under the responsibility of the Navajo Housing Authority.
Forkner said the response made a difference for people who arrived discouraged by the damage and uncertainty.
"We had over 20 people whose homes are total losses, but when they left, they would hug us. They smiled. They saw a little light at the end of the tunnel that wasn't an oncoming train," Forkner said.
As recovery continues, DAV is also addressing another concern for residents as temperatures drop: access to firewood.
Forkner said many families on the reservation rely on wood-burning stoves for heat and cooking, making firewood especially important during the winter months.
"Wood is, during the winter months, wood is life," Forkner said. "They use it. Many of them, all they have for heating and cooking, is a potbelly stove in the middle of the house or the trailer."
DAV helped arrange deliveries totaling approximately 24 cords of firewood for distribution at locations in the northern and southern portions of the reservation.
Forkner said the effort also highlighted the difficult living conditions some veterans face. He recalled visiting the home of a Navajo woman named Dorothy, who later publicly expressed gratitude for the assistance through a traditional Navajo expression.
During an earlier visit, Forkner said he saw a leaking roof, deteriorating floorboards and a damaged wood-burning stove.
Dorothy's expression of gratitude also provided an opportunity to show younger generations the importance of community and helping others, Forkner said.
The relief effort is continuing, with DAV planning additional assistance for families affected by the flooding.
Forkner said another 100 emergency assistance checks were scheduled for distribution during a return trip to the area Nov. 10 and 11.
The organization is also planning to deliver four 26-foot box trucks filled with donations later in November. Edgecore Corp., a Valley company, has already donated a truckload of desks and chairs for the reservation.
DAV is seeking additional donations, including blankets, warm coats, nonperishable food, firewood and tarps.
People interested in helping can contact the organization's relief coordinators:
- West Valley: Tineke Hage — hage.tineke@gmail.com
- East Valley: Debbie Roberts — debbie1255@hotmail.com
- Logistics: Lorrain Browning — lorrainbrowning@gmail.com
Donations also can be dropped off at DAV headquarters, 38 W. Dunlap Ave. in Phoenix, across from Sunnyslope High School. The office accepts donations Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Forkner said the community has responded generously so far, but continued assistance will be important as families work to recover from the flooding and prepare for winter.
