We went to a church and met with Rebuild New York, an organization started to help people rebuild after Sandy. We were joined at Rebuild New York by a youth group from Virginia We listened to Ryan, in the picture above, the co-founder explain to us why Rebuild New York existed. In the first two months after Sandy, there were lots of people helping, but he saw the vast list of needs, long term needs and wondered, who will help these people in 9 months, or in 2 years from now?
-On Long Island alone 95,000 homes were flooded
-Of those 95,000 flooded homes 45,000 had flood insurance
-FEMA average payout to flood victims was $8,000
-With $8,000 they just about can remodel or repair their bathrooms. That leaves the rest of their basement and first floor and then the replacement of their appliances and furniture.
-Even those with insurance need to first pay for the repairs, turn in receipts for the repairs, and then get reimbursed. Which is tough when the typical repair costs are in excess of $80,000 and they just lost many if not all of their earthly possessions.
-One last thing Ryan shared with us. When we drove to the church we looked for signs of devastation, like I had seen in New Orleans after Katrina. We didn't see much. We saw high watermarks on fences and houses, but not washed out buildings. He said this was misleading, because everyone we talked to told us the damage was on the inside. Four to eight feet water rushed into their homes, many of them with basements. And then it drained out their front door or the garage door and carried their belongings with them. Then the mold quickly settled in. I will tell you more about that below.
So then Ryan passed out the assignments. The Virginia team was sent to help a family, and the Rolling Hills team was broken up and sent to help two different families.
[Parents - Thank you for sending your child with us. We are making a big impact here because of you.]
[Supporters - Thank you! We would not have even gotten on the plane without your money or prayers or encouraging words.]
So Team 1, was led by Rob and Christine and Jeff and Chris, and they were sent to help Miriam and her son by painting the interior of their home. Miriam and her son were so so so thankful. Her nephew was also there at the home and he was so impressed that he went out an bought a disposable camera to take pictures of the team that came all the way from Oregon to help his aunt. He was truly touched, he just couldn't believe that people could care that much about someone they didn't even know to come so far and help. Tatum our official photographer also took photos and I will share those with you when I can download them off of her camera.
Miriam shared that everyone who had a car on the island, lost their car. 8 ft of rushing ocean water apparently will do that. We heard stories of seeing every class of car destroyed, from old clunker pick-up trucks to Rolls Royces and Ferraris. Hurricane Sandy was the great class equalizer. After the storm when people needed cars, there was one rental car agency open, and their policy was one family can rent one car, so now every family on the block hwas driving the same car.
Miriam's son is a fireman and paramedic. He was on duty when Sandy struck, so he worked and saved other people's family members and wondered how and if his own family was surviving. Finally when was off duty, he came home. He arrived in a zodiak, a rigid inflatable boat!
Team 2, was led by Dennis and myself. We were asked to help Regina, a single mom on Long Beach. Regina was so excited, she was waiting on her front steps for us. She just couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that we were here to help her. She said that we brought her hope. She shared how she has tried to fix her house but there is a long long wait list for contractors and she has down what she can, but she is tired, physically and emotionally and spiritually. And she smiled and said she felt like she won the lottery today when we pulled up.
Here Regina is showing where the water settled after it surged at 8 ft. Long Beach is an island between a bay and the ocean, and during Sandy the bay and ocean merged at her driveway.
Let me share one more Sandy memories from Regina. After she returned home, there was no power, no water, no heat, and there was a 6pm curfew. During the day soldiers, tanks, and armored cars patrolled the streets, and after curfew helicopters with spotlights patrolled the island. She said she felt like she was in Iraq. It was a scary time for her.
And lastly both families shared this...when everyone returned to their homes they had to throw out everything that had gotten wet, because the mold had set in and began to grow rampantly. So on every street, they saw the same thing. Piles, 10-12 ft tall, of everything in the house that had mold and sewage on it, because that backed up too. All of their belongings from the first and sometimes second story. And then the dump trucks would drive neighborhood to neighborhood and with large claws they would pickup the piles and dump them in the trucks. They both remembered seeing their piles picked up and dumped. That was painful. Pictures, home videos, the personal family heirlooms were gone.
So what did do for Regina...let me show you.
-On Long Island alone 95,000 homes were flooded
-Of those 95,000 flooded homes 45,000 had flood insurance
-FEMA average payout to flood victims was $8,000
-With $8,000 they just about can remodel or repair their bathrooms. That leaves the rest of their basement and first floor and then the replacement of their appliances and furniture.
-Even those with insurance need to first pay for the repairs, turn in receipts for the repairs, and then get reimbursed. Which is tough when the typical repair costs are in excess of $80,000 and they just lost many if not all of their earthly possessions.
-One last thing Ryan shared with us. When we drove to the church we looked for signs of devastation, like I had seen in New Orleans after Katrina. We didn't see much. We saw high watermarks on fences and houses, but not washed out buildings. He said this was misleading, because everyone we talked to told us the damage was on the inside. Four to eight feet water rushed into their homes, many of them with basements. And then it drained out their front door or the garage door and carried their belongings with them. Then the mold quickly settled in. I will tell you more about that below.
So then Ryan passed out the assignments. The Virginia team was sent to help a family, and the Rolling Hills team was broken up and sent to help two different families.
[Parents - Thank you for sending your child with us. We are making a big impact here because of you.]
[Supporters - Thank you! We would not have even gotten on the plane without your money or prayers or encouraging words.]
So Team 1, was led by Rob and Christine and Jeff and Chris, and they were sent to help Miriam and her son by painting the interior of their home. Miriam and her son were so so so thankful. Her nephew was also there at the home and he was so impressed that he went out an bought a disposable camera to take pictures of the team that came all the way from Oregon to help his aunt. He was truly touched, he just couldn't believe that people could care that much about someone they didn't even know to come so far and help. Tatum our official photographer also took photos and I will share those with you when I can download them off of her camera.
Miriam shared that everyone who had a car on the island, lost their car. 8 ft of rushing ocean water apparently will do that. We heard stories of seeing every class of car destroyed, from old clunker pick-up trucks to Rolls Royces and Ferraris. Hurricane Sandy was the great class equalizer. After the storm when people needed cars, there was one rental car agency open, and their policy was one family can rent one car, so now every family on the block hwas driving the same car.
Miriam's son is a fireman and paramedic. He was on duty when Sandy struck, so he worked and saved other people's family members and wondered how and if his own family was surviving. Finally when was off duty, he came home. He arrived in a zodiak, a rigid inflatable boat!
Team 2, was led by Dennis and myself. We were asked to help Regina, a single mom on Long Beach. Regina was so excited, she was waiting on her front steps for us. She just couldn't believe it, she couldn't believe that we were here to help her. She said that we brought her hope. She shared how she has tried to fix her house but there is a long long wait list for contractors and she has down what she can, but she is tired, physically and emotionally and spiritually. And she smiled and said she felt like she won the lottery today when we pulled up.
Here Regina is showing where the water settled after it surged at 8 ft. Long Beach is an island between a bay and the ocean, and during Sandy the bay and ocean merged at her driveway.
Let me share one more Sandy memories from Regina. After she returned home, there was no power, no water, no heat, and there was a 6pm curfew. During the day soldiers, tanks, and armored cars patrolled the streets, and after curfew helicopters with spotlights patrolled the island. She said she felt like she was in Iraq. It was a scary time for her.
And lastly both families shared this...when everyone returned to their homes they had to throw out everything that had gotten wet, because the mold had set in and began to grow rampantly. So on every street, they saw the same thing. Piles, 10-12 ft tall, of everything in the house that had mold and sewage on it, because that backed up too. All of their belongings from the first and sometimes second story. And then the dump trucks would drive neighborhood to neighborhood and with large claws they would pickup the piles and dump them in the trucks. They both remembered seeing their piles picked up and dumped. That was painful. Pictures, home videos, the personal family heirlooms were gone.
So what did do for Regina...let me show you.
A few minutes later everyone was asleep in the van, even yours truly :-)
Your heart and hands are bringing hope and healing. Thank you for sharing your daily stories and capturing it with such great pictures. You are reflecting God's heart in a very tangible way.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great photos and stories! We are living this adventure with you! I am so proud of all of you, and so thankful that you faithfully followed God's calling and are shining so brightly for Him in this community. Bless you all. We're praying for you!!
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