Update #16
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
9:00am
Good morning -
I had the privilege of talking with the clergy in the Fresh Start program yesterday. They are a good group and had thoughtful questions and insights. One of the ideas that I took from our discussion is to invest in a solar powered cell phone charger (amazon.com, approx $30.00). I believe this to be an excellent idea as it will allow us to keep our phones charged in the event of loss of power; and, if prolonged power loss, we may have a means of communicating with each other by texting.
To make this work, one would need the recipients' cell phone numbers, which may mean updating the parish directory for cell phone and email contact information, and printing it out...
Update: Conditions are essentially unchanged since yesterday in Mid-Hudson, Region II, and NYC.
Individual Volunteer Opportunities: 86 people have now signed up to help through our diocesan website form. Thank you! Check out our EDNY Volunteer Opportunities Facebook page for the latest opportunities, including a work day on Staten Island tomorrow.
Parish response team opportunities: I have heard some requests to know more about the specific task that parish-based volunteer teams might sign up for. The answer is that the needs are changing rapidly, and are not necessarily known in advance. However, there is a need for work crews on Staten Island to muck out homes (remove the viscous material that water brought with it), remove debris from homes, gut the home (sheet rock, floor, etc removal), and rebuilding. The mucking out requires some training to do it safely.
For both individuals and parish teams: There also may be the possibility of helping with NYC's Office of Emergency Management (OEM)'s common intake system - entering the particulars of a family's needs into the city damage tracking system - I will know more about this soon.
Housing request: A request has been made for dormitory housing for out of state Volunteers, such as Americorps Volunteers. These are people who have come to help as part of an organized response by their agency. Given the areas in which they are volunteering, if any parish in Manhattan or Staten Island can host volunteers, either on a short or long term basis, please let me know. Showers or the ability to accommodate shower trailers are necessary.
Thank you for all you are doing.
God bless you.
Stephen+
