Support for Disabled Veteran Jimmy's Flood Recovery

On Saturday, June 22nd, my father Jimmy Sassman lost everything.

In only half a week, the whole of North West Iowa received almost 15” of rain, and on early Saturday morning, a federal levee broke in Rock Valley, Iowa. The broken levee forced water into already high rivers, causing historic flooding in the normally dry Spencer area. Spencer is now decimated—the southern part of the city is sitting in deep water and its residents were being rescued in boats. This is where my dad’s home was.

The residents of Spencer were not warned of the impending danger until Saturday at 8am, but by that time it was too late. After becoming trapped in his house, and with the help of a passerby, he was able to break out and escape. He evacuated with the clothes on his back, his cellphone, wallet, and only his imperative life-saving medications.

Along with many of his neighbors, my dad did not have flood insurance due to not being in a flood plain and is now being told that his home and his personal belongings are not covered. Allstate has told him that because the water came from outside of the house and not the inside, they are not liable to help. They are choosing to ignore the unprecedented nature of the flooding, the State and Federal disaster proclamations, and the thousands of people who have been affected, leaving the residents with no way to rebuild despite the years of paying insurance and expensive premiums.

Allstate is now telling my father— a 77-year-old, disabled, two-time war veteran who served almost 30 years in the United States Air Force—to kick rocks.

He has been sheltering in Faith United Pentecostal Church since Saturday. Surrounded by strangers, with limited resources. He suffers from a military service-related back injury, and due to him having to sleep on a cot and medications that were lost to the flood, his physical situation has worsened and he is struggling to walk. He has no car to try to go elsewhere, as they were totaled by the flood. To add insult to injury in this situation, my father had just accepted an offer on his house a few weeks prior. The sale was set to close three weeks after the flood. My dad is alone, homeless, and stranded.

My father is a proud man, bordering on absolutely stubborn. I have written, deleted, and rewritten this so many times. A family trait of ours is to be slow to ask for help, but at this point, the situation is desperate. This man raised me single-handedly since I was five years old and has been a pillar of strength through every situation in life. Now, this experience has left him broken, both mentally and physically.

Donations of any amount would be greatly appreciated. The funds will go directly into essentials such as clothing, food, shelter, and hopefully in time, the tools to start rebuilding his life.

To the stranger wading next to his canoe down 6th Ave SW, thank you for answering my dad’s call for help to escape his home. To the nameless volunteer in his boat, thank you for stopping and evacuating him to the dry land. To the countless people that have donated clothing, toiletries, and food, thank you. I may never know your names, but I am eternally grateful.