HURRICANE SANDY
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January 2013
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Most of the severely busted up homes and businesses have been razed and the debris removed, leaving many empty lots. Most downed trees, limbs, and bushes have also been removed.
What is not so obvious are the hundreds and hundreds of homes that outwardly look OK but have been "red-tagged." This means that they have such severe internal structural damage that they will also have to be razed. The majority of those no red-tagged have suffered severe internal water damage. All sheetrock installed. In addition anything on the floors - cabinets, appliances, water heaters , and even flooring also removed and replaced.
There are volunteers showing up from all over America as well as material and financial donations. However, though some come prepared for the physical assistance needed(like the Mennonites) many come without proper tools or skills. The Americorps are people trying to direct the volunteers as best as they can.
We contacted the pastors who Bill and Jeff had worked with as well as all the agencies working in the Union Beach. The Majority of our work and funds went into a multi-faceted plan with one of the churches (the Community Church of Keyport) that would stretch our funds to maximize the number of needy families possible. It also created a framework and system to expand as donations came in from other sources.
We immediately bought four large capacity dehumidifiers to add to one that the church already had. Now five houses at a time can be dried out and the dehumidifiers passed to the next families.
We created six emergency tool kit boxes. Each heavy-duty box has a pull handle and wheels. Each box is filled with all the tools necessary to do the basic sheet rock removal and installation(and other basic repairs). All the power tools have heavy duty batteries in case the home has no electricity. Needy families and their volunteers will have the boxes checked out to them and when finished the boxes will go to the next family.
We set up an account at Lowe's for about $16,000. We negotiated a more than 50%(basically at their cost) discount for materials. A part of this plan includes a basic paint kit that includes enough primer, paint and tools to paint the inside of an average house (1,600 ft sq in that town). The husband of the pastor of the Community Church of Keyport, Bill Seaman, is vetting all who request vouchers or tool kits. In the case of the paint, Bill will give them the paint materials list along with his signature and Lowes account number and the homeowner/renter takes it to Lowes and receives the kit. If they order more than what is on the list, they have to pay the difference. With regard to sheetrock or other materials, Bill signs a voucher for what is needed, the person takes it to Lowe's and they deliver at no charge.
We set up a restricted line item in the church's budget in the amount of $5,000 for security deposits and other emergency supplies. As it was able, the church was already helping families move back into other rentals by paying their security deposits. These were families who could manage the rent, but not the security deposit. In other cases , the church sometimes found families living in cars or other severe circumstances who needed basic supplies - food, clothing, blankets.
Bill Seaman will provide an accounting to Global Uplift of the specifics of every penny spent, by his church and the funds on account at Lowe's.
Most importantly we have created an effective assistance system that the Community Church of Keyport can continues to use as they receive funds from other sources. The system is scalable, enabling it to expand if larger amounts of money become available to them. We are all hoping that other faith groups and community groups will choose to replicate this system. Already the AmeriCorps leaders have visited the Community Church of Keyport to look over the tool kit boxes. Collaboration is not far behind.
We also met a pastor from NY who is also a contractor. He comes to Union Beach for a couple of weeks at a time. Helping needy people repair their residences. However he has no supplies - sheetrock, subflooring, etc. We bought 5 water heaters and a supply of sheetrock, subflooring, etc. for the 7-10 homes he was currently working on.
Finally we heard that the elementary schools of Union Beach were all ruined in the storm. The children have been moved to other building (never intended for schools) while their schools are being repaired. The air quality is suspect in the temporary housing and the school nurses only escaped with a desk, chair, and a cot. We used a modest amount of our funds to buy large capacity Hepa/ultraviolet air filters as well as equipment and supply all three nurse's offices.
What is not so obvious are the hundreds and hundreds of homes that outwardly look OK but have been "red-tagged." This means that they have such severe internal structural damage that they will also have to be razed. The majority of those no red-tagged have suffered severe internal water damage. All sheetrock installed. In addition anything on the floors - cabinets, appliances, water heaters , and even flooring also removed and replaced.
There are volunteers showing up from all over America as well as material and financial donations. However, though some come prepared for the physical assistance needed(like the Mennonites) many come without proper tools or skills. The Americorps are people trying to direct the volunteers as best as they can.
We contacted the pastors who Bill and Jeff had worked with as well as all the agencies working in the Union Beach. The Majority of our work and funds went into a multi-faceted plan with one of the churches (the Community Church of Keyport) that would stretch our funds to maximize the number of needy families possible. It also created a framework and system to expand as donations came in from other sources.
We immediately bought four large capacity dehumidifiers to add to one that the church already had. Now five houses at a time can be dried out and the dehumidifiers passed to the next families.
We created six emergency tool kit boxes. Each heavy-duty box has a pull handle and wheels. Each box is filled with all the tools necessary to do the basic sheet rock removal and installation(and other basic repairs). All the power tools have heavy duty batteries in case the home has no electricity. Needy families and their volunteers will have the boxes checked out to them and when finished the boxes will go to the next family.
We set up an account at Lowe's for about $16,000. We negotiated a more than 50%(basically at their cost) discount for materials. A part of this plan includes a basic paint kit that includes enough primer, paint and tools to paint the inside of an average house (1,600 ft sq in that town). The husband of the pastor of the Community Church of Keyport, Bill Seaman, is vetting all who request vouchers or tool kits. In the case of the paint, Bill will give them the paint materials list along with his signature and Lowes account number and the homeowner/renter takes it to Lowes and receives the kit. If they order more than what is on the list, they have to pay the difference. With regard to sheetrock or other materials, Bill signs a voucher for what is needed, the person takes it to Lowe's and they deliver at no charge.
We set up a restricted line item in the church's budget in the amount of $5,000 for security deposits and other emergency supplies. As it was able, the church was already helping families move back into other rentals by paying their security deposits. These were families who could manage the rent, but not the security deposit. In other cases , the church sometimes found families living in cars or other severe circumstances who needed basic supplies - food, clothing, blankets.
Bill Seaman will provide an accounting to Global Uplift of the specifics of every penny spent, by his church and the funds on account at Lowe's.
Most importantly we have created an effective assistance system that the Community Church of Keyport can continues to use as they receive funds from other sources. The system is scalable, enabling it to expand if larger amounts of money become available to them. We are all hoping that other faith groups and community groups will choose to replicate this system. Already the AmeriCorps leaders have visited the Community Church of Keyport to look over the tool kit boxes. Collaboration is not far behind.
We also met a pastor from NY who is also a contractor. He comes to Union Beach for a couple of weeks at a time. Helping needy people repair their residences. However he has no supplies - sheetrock, subflooring, etc. We bought 5 water heaters and a supply of sheetrock, subflooring, etc. for the 7-10 homes he was currently working on.
Finally we heard that the elementary schools of Union Beach were all ruined in the storm. The children have been moved to other building (never intended for schools) while their schools are being repaired. The air quality is suspect in the temporary housing and the school nurses only escaped with a desk, chair, and a cot. We used a modest amount of our funds to buy large capacity Hepa/ultraviolet air filters as well as equipment and supply all three nurse's offices.