Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding program sites are ‘paused,’ to restart in 2021

By Jenn Dorsch-Messler

Both of the current Brethren Disaster Ministries rebuilding project sites will be closed after this week for a holiday break.

The coastal North Carolina Hurricane Florence recovery site in Bayboro, N.C., has had groups of volunteers and leadership working on homes as scheduled during the month of December.

The tornado recovery site in Dayton, Ohio, in December cancelled volunteers due to the rising number of cases and COVID-19 alert levels in Montgomery County, as well as the locations from which volunteer groups were scheduled to travel. Local leadership completed the final planned home this week and moved Brethren Disaster Ministry vehicles and trailers to be stored while the Ohio site is “paused” from January to April 2021.

In 2021, the Brethren Disaster Ministry program will be down to one rebuilding site at a time throughout the year. The North Carolina site is scheduled to reopen Jan. 10 and close at the end of March. The Ohio site will reopen after Easter to continue for the rest of 2021.

However, this plan will be influenced by the COVID-19 climate at the sites and by the locations where volunteers travel from. Brethren Disaster Ministries will monitor the COVID-19 situation through the year to determine if any changes to the plan are required.

With the departure of Terry Goodger from the Brethren Disaster Ministries office, questions about scheduling and projects can be sent to Jenn Dorsch-Messler at jdorsch-messler@brethren.org or 410-635-8737.

— Jenn Dorsch-Messler is the director of Brethren Disaster Ministries.

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