United Methodists work toward long-term hurricane recovery
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A UMNS photo by Mark Rehn Bishop
Thomas Bickerton of Pittsburgh talks with Joy Bargerstock (center) at
her flooded home in Tarentum, Pa. The Rev. Alice Weaver Dunn listens.
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Bishop
Thomas Bickerton (right) talks with Joy Bargerstock (center) at her
flooded Tarentum, Pa., home, along with Bargerstock�s pastor, the Rev.
Alice Weaver Dunn, of Trinity United Methodist Church in Brackenridge.
The Bargerstocks were evacuated by boat from their elevated deck when
the waters rose quickly on Sept. 17. The flooding resulted from Tropical
Storm Ivan. When this photo was taken, they were still out of their
home. A UMNS photo by Mark Rehn. Photo #04-506. Accompanies UMNS story
#522, 11/5/04. |
Nov. 5, 2004By Linda Bloom* NEW
YORK (UMNS) — This year’s hurricanes may no longer rate coverage on the
Weather Channel, but those affected by the storms are reminded daily of
their impact. The
Rev. Tom Hazelwood, domestic disaster coordinator for the United
Methodist Committee on Relief, said his agency has received funding
requests from United Methodist conferences in Florida, Alabama, Western
North Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. UMCOR also is assisting
with recovery work in the Caribbean. How
much assistance the agency can provide, especially for long-term
recovery, depends upon the donations that UMCOR receives, he told United
Methodist News Service. As
of early November, UMCOR reported, volunteers had invested more than a
million hours in recovery projects related to the recent hurricanes and
tropical storms. Hurricane
Charley kicked off the storm season in mid-August, followed by
Hurricanes Frances, Ivan, Jeanne and other storms, named and unnamed.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has labeled the 2004 Atlantic
hurricane season "one of the busiest and most destructive in history." In
Florida, up to 1,000 new volunteers have registered with the
denomination’s storm recovery center there for work assignments over the
next year. Another focus is case management, and UMCOR is coordinating
with the United Methodist Florida Annual (regional) Conference to set up
training sessions and staffing. "We
are working very hard to get case management in place, whether it is
hired or volunteer – we’re going to try to use a combination of the
two," Hazelwood said. He
pointed out that more middle-class families are seeking assistance in
Florida because the insurance deductibles there are so high. In some
cases, he added, homeowners must pay a different deductible for each
storm. The
Church World Service Interfaith Trauma Response Team also has organized
"caring for the caregiver" workshops in central Florida. The United
Methodist Church of Pine Island hosted an October workshop. Case
management training is set for mid-November in the denomination’s
Alabama-West Florida Conference, according to the Rev. John Edwards,
conference disaster relief coordinator. "We’re looking to move into the
long-term recovery process in a bigger way." At
least four counties have organized long-term recovery committees, with
more assessment needed in rural, inland areas, he added. Hazelwood
noted that the recovery work in Alabama-West Florida would depend
partly upon the funds available and partly on how efforts are
coordinated with other denominations and relief groups. "We, as United
Methodists, are trying to see where we can plug in," he said. In
some areas, essential services are still being restored. Edwards, who
lives in Santa Rosa County and serves as pastor of Mount Carmel United
Methodist Church near Jay, Fla., and the state line, noted that he is
among those still without telephone service.
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The Rev. Tom Hazelwood |
Housing remains a
critical issue in the region. "FEMA is getting mobile homes and travel
trailers in as fast as the manufacturers can turn them out," Edwards
said.Volunteer
work teams for the Alabama-West Florida area currently are being
scheduled through summer of next year, "but we can always use more
volunteers," he added. Huntingdon
College, a United Methodist-related institution in Montgomery, Ala.,
has adopted Oakcrest Elementary School in Pensacola, Fla., as a service
project for its First Year Experience program. The elementary school
sustained hurricane damage, and its students are among some of the many
thousands in Pensacola who lost homes or property. Rains
generated by the hurricanes hit Western North Carolina hard, according
to Hazelwood, and case management training is planned there in November.
"Several small communities were devastated by flooding and mudslides,"
he said. Dawn
Hand, the Western North Carolina Conference’s director of
communications, said that United Methodists there expect at least a
two-year recovery period. "We are in the process of securing staff to
work in Haywood County, one of the areas that was heavily damaged," she
added. United Methodist volunteers also are working in cooperation with
Baptists in Macon County. About
300 to 400 homes need to be rebuilt in Haywood County, Hand said.
Volunteer teams are working there every week, and new teams are being
scheduled into next year. In
the Caribbean, a two-member UMCOR team recently visiting Haiti and
Grenada found an urgent need for food, home rebuilding and other
reconstruction. The agency already has been working with ecumenical
partners on both islands on cleanup, school rehabilitation and
distribution of fresh water.
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A UMNS photo by Mark Rehn Donning
rubber gloves, Bishop Thomas Bickerton prepares to battle mold in the
basement of a Carnegie, Pa., home that suffered flooding.
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Bishop
Thomas Bickerton puts on rubber gloves to start battling mold with a
mixture of strong cleaners and disinfectant. He worked in the basement
of John and Pearl Hanczar, who live on Janes Street in Carnegie, just
west of Pittsburgh. The Greek Orthodox couple marveled at a bishop -
whom they kept calling �your eminence� - working in their basement. The
United Methodist Committee on Relief provided the cleaning supplies in a
flood bucket. A UMNS photo by Mark Rehn. Photo #04-507. Accompanies
UMNS story #522, 11/5/04. |
David Sadoo, UMCOR
staff, and Margaret Stansberry, an aid consultant, reported that
mudslides and floods created by Tropical Storm Jeanne in Haiti had
"sheared off" roads, collapsed bridges, flattened homes and squashed
garden plots. The city of Gonaives — a cotton production center where
3,000 people were left dead or missing — has been plagued by violence
and hunger.The
team recommended improving efforts to distribute food, health kits and
school supplies and increasing home construction in the area north of
Gonaives. In
Grenada, Hurricane Ivan damaged 90 percent of the island’s buildings.
Those buildings included community centers that provide libraries, day
care and shelters, offer training programs and serve as town hall
settings. Reconstruction of the centers, along with housing, is key, as
is the restoration of nutmeg farming, a chief source of income for
Grenada. Although
Hurricane Ivan had been downgraded to a tropical storm when it hit
western Pennsylvania, major flooding still occurred in Pittsburgh and
the surrounding counties. The Rev. Rick Nelson, disaster response
coordinator for the United Methodist Western Pennsylvania Conference,
said most of the initial cleanup is completed, although some elderly
residents who need assistance are still being identified. About
10 long-term recovery groups have been established in worst-affected
areas throughout the conference, according to Nelson, and casework
managers are being hired. As coordinator, he is helping organize, train
and resource these groups. Most
flooded areas are in the "dry out" stage. "Very few, if any, in the
communities are ready to start rebuilding," he explained. But the
conference plans to start scheduling volunteer teams for when that phase
begins. Donations
for UMCOR’s hurricane assistance should be designated to Advance No.
982410, "Hurricanes 2004." Checks can be dropped in church collection
plates or mailed directly to UMCOR at 475 Riverside Dr., Room 330, New
York, NY 10115. To donate by credit card, call (800) 554-8583, a
toll-free number. Online, donors can go to www.MethodistRelief.org, where a secure server allows the donor to enter credit-card information. UMCOR also continues to need flood buckets containing supplies that volunteers use in post-hurricane cleanup. Go to http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor/print/kits for details. Volunteers
can contact United Methodist conference offices in the various states
for further information about setting up work team visits. *Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York. News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org
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