Atlanta Union Mission Hit Hard by Floods

ATLANTA -- "It was devastating. You just really couldn't believe it," said Atlanta Union Mission CEO Jim Reese.

You can't even see the small stream that connects to the Chattahoochee River behind The Carpenter's House..part of Atlanta Union Mission. Reese pointed at the woods behind the building.

"You and I could walk 100, 200 feet and we wouldn't touch any water," he said.

But the September floods defied all sorts of odds and swallowed up the first floor of the building. Allthe items for the city's neediest residents were stored here. It was a total loss, from toilet paper and diapers to winter clothing and washers and dryers, everything was ruined, a five hundred thousand dollar loss. Insurance will cover less than half the damage. It couldn't happen at a worse time. Donations to charities are down because of the economy and the holidays are around the corner. So Reese is asking strapped Atlantans to dig deep and try to help..with a donation of money, clothing, diapers, toilet paper. They are simple items that resotre a bit of dignity to the lives of people often overlooked.

"When I think of the people that we serve, they have no homes everyday, and this is what they count on," he said.