Cadillac Church Brings Mental Health Aid to Flood Victims

Weeks after devastating floods filled Cadillac basements with raw sewage and up to five feet of water, residents are getting help healing the damage you can't see.

Temple Hill Baptist Church partnered with Focus on the Family to bring volunteers who recognized what homeowners truly needed most. After hosting a block party to assess community needs, they discovered people weren't just looking for help with cleanup—they needed someone to listen.

"I think a lot of people were just overwhelmed with a sense of loss," said Pastor Andy Brubaker. "How do we deal with this? How do we move on? How do we rebuild not only our homes, but our lives after this?"

Homeowner Drew Moriarty still has water seeping through his basement floor weeks later, despite the main floodwaters receding. He has family nearby to lean on, but he sees how crucial volunteers are for neighbors who don't.

"Sometimes the people that are checking on them, like this door to door, might be the only checking that they get," Moriarty said.

Property owner Dan Broton echoed this sentiment, noting how difficult it is to find help when everyone in the area is dealing with damage. The volunteers provided immediate assistance with yard work and appliance removal, plus gift baskets and informational resources.

The Bright Side

What started as practical cleanup help revealed a deeper need. Pastor Brubaker noticed that residents had pushed down their emotions while dealing with the immediate crisis of removing water. Now those feelings are surfacing, and the community is ready to help people process them.

Volunteers like Tenille Bradley from Greenville traveled to Cadillac specifically to address this emotional toll. "There's a lot of trauma that can happen with natural disasters and flooding," Bradley said. "We're just here to love on people."

This Saturday, Focus on the Family will offer free mental health therapy sessions from 1 to 4 p.m. at Temple Hill Baptist Church. The sessions address what many homeowners are struggling with most: anxiety and fear about what comes next, and whether insurance will cover their losses.

Even the church itself experienced flooding in its parking lot and garage, though volunteers managed to save the main building. That shared experience has deepened their empathy for neighbors who lost everything.

Sometimes recovery isn't just about removing water and replacing drywall—it's about having someone acknowledge your loss and help you find hope again.