A grant of $7,500 from the Church of the Brethren’s Emergency Disaster Fund (EDF) has been directed by Brethren Disaster Ministries to aid 12 families in York County, Pa., who have no other means of recovery from damage by Tropical Storm Ida in 2021.
On Aug. 29, 2021, Hurricane Ida made landfall on the US Gulf Coast as a Category 4 storm. It was the second most damaging and intense hurricane to hit Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina. The remnants then caused catastrophic flooding and tornadoes across the northeastern US. As a tropical storm on Sept. 1-2 it caused record-setting rainfall and flooding in multiple areas including York County, Pa. Hundreds of homes were damaged, as well as roads, bridges, and other infrastructure.
The Pennsylvania Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (Pennsylvania VOAD) and community leaders worked to form the York County Long-Term Recovery Group to identify families and individuals unable to meet their needs alone. A disproportionate number of vulnerable households were, and still are, struggling to complete their recovery.
Representatives from the Church of the Brethren’s Southern Pennsylvania District and Brethren Disaster Ministries staff have been meeting with the York County recovery group. Now that the two-year term of the FEMA Disaster Case Management Program Grant has ended, 12 cases are still not completed. The Construction Management and Disaster Case Management for the York County recovery group has been turned over to a trusted VOAD partner, the Elevated Studio, which is working to close out these final cases.
Brethren Disaster Ministries staff are working with district disaster coordinators and project leaders in three Church of the Brethren districts–Southern Pennsylvania, Middle Pennsylvania, and Atlantic Northeast–who will organize volunteers to complete these 12 homes in the coming weeks and months. Volunteer work may start as soon as the last week of June, working directly with the Elevated Studio staff.
The grant funds also will enable the York County recovery group to close out its work. Any remaining funds will be used to pay for construction materials installed in the homes.
To learn more about Brethren Disaster Ministries go to www.brethren.org/bdm.
To support this work financially, donate to the EDF at https://churchofthebrethren.givingfuel.com/bdm.
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