Human services organizations in Pensacola that were hit hard by the late April floods are inching their way back toward helping those in need.

For some it is a long road.

Three offices of the Escambia Community Clinic, the Waterfront Rescue Mission facilities on Herman Street and Manna Food Pantries all saw standing water during the flood and temporarily shut their doors.

All three agencies are in varying stages of recovery.

The Escambia Community Clinic, which provides medical care for thousands adults and children in need, saw water in its main medical appointment clinic at 2200 N. Palafox St., the ECC Dental Clinic, located in the Florida Department of Health at 1295 W. Fairfield Drive, and the ECC Waterfront Rescue Mission Primary Care Clinic at 350 W. Herman St.

The main clinic saw 2½ feet of contaminated “brown water” during the flood, said Ann Papadelias, director of dental services for the ECC. The location has seen flooding as far back as 1998, and Papadelias said, after the April 29-30 flood, the recommendation is not to rebuild the main site at that location.

The clinic has relocated to a temporary site in the Midtown Professional Building at 14 W. Jordan St., just across the street.

“The building is a 1960s vintage medical office building that will accommodate all of ECC’s clinical and administrative operations,” Papadelias said. “It will require some renovation and will meet the immediate needs of the health center, but is not a permanent solution.”

While patients at the main clinic are being redirected to the Midtown Professional Building, the dental clinic is closed indefinitely for repairs, Papaelias said. The clinic is working to replace those services on a limited basis with mobile units.

The clinic also has a primary care clinic inside the Waterfront Rescue Mission’s day resource center, which saw 1½ foot of water. That clinic is expected to reopen by mid-June.

The mission facilities on Herman Street flooded for the second time in less than two years. The administration building and day center had about 20 inches of water, while the mission and its donation warehouse and recycling center had 8 inches.

The flood temporarily sent the 30 or so transients who normally sleep at the mission to Salvation Army facilities.

“The mission is now open for all of our clients and overnight guests,” said Jessica Howell, the mission’s development associate. “We are still in the rebuilding stage, waiting on carpet and baseboards to be put back down, but we are fully operational there.”

The mission’s administrative offices relocated to an Olive Road facility that normally houses about 60 participants in the mission’s addiction recovery program. Those clients were sent to temporary lodging at Hillcrest Baptist Church.

“The administration office is still located at the Olive Road facility. We will be there for the next six to eight weeks,” Howell said. “However, the 60 men are back at the mission.”

The recycle and donation center was shut down for several days with much product lost, she said.

Manna Food Pantries, which provides groceries to the hungry in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties, saw as much as three feet of water in its Gonzalez Street facilities, destroying thousands of pounds of stored food.

Manna – which also saw significant flooding in 2012 – ceased all operations immediately, but has since begun accepting food donation. Leaders there hope to begin distributing food again in the coming weeks, but are actively looking for a new location to house their main pantry.

Clinic photos are courtesy of Ann Papdelias.

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