Hurricane Sandy Update #30
Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
Thursday, January 31, 2013
Greetings!

These are days of mounting frustration.

I hear it everywhere, but particularly from homeowners who feel caught in a web of confusing, mutually-contradictory regulations.

Fixing a hurricane-damaged house is not so simple as gathering some willing friends and setting to work on restoring the home to its condition before the storm.

There are other players on the field, you see. Insurance-company adjusters. Independent adjusters to fight the official company adjusters. FEMA staffers. Mortgage officers. Whatever specialists FEMA has been using to redraw the flood maps. Contractors (if you can find them). Subcontractors (if the contractors can find them). House raisers. Building inspectors. The list goes on and on.

Days turn into weeks. Weeks turn into months. And months turn into... (Let's not think about that, OK?)

The bottom line is, an awful lot of people in our local area are sitting inside the gutted first floors of their homes (or their entire homes, if they're a single story) and doing their best to keep warm - and to hope.

This video says it all. Pictured in it is Faith Liguori, who works as executive director of the Ocean Housing Alliance (the organization that operates the Joan Valentine House). Faith used to be in charge of the entire Ocean County Board of Social Services. If anyone ought to know how to successfully navigate bureaucracies, it's her.

Yet, as you'll see in this video, Faith is feeling as frustrated as anyone else. She describes the experience of trying to get the necessary approvals to repair her Seaside Park home as going through the rabbit hole - as in that famous rabbit hole in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland:

Homeless in Seaside Park, NJ After Sandy - An Open Letter by Faith Liguori
Homeless in Seaside Park, NJ After Sandy - An Open Letter by Faith Liguori

We're feeling the secondary impact of these problems in the church as well, especially as we work to get our volunteer-hosting program fully operational. Beginning in the middle of February, we expect to start welcoming volunteer work groups to our Education Annex on a more-or-less continuous basis. Each Sunday evening a group will arrive, staying on through Saturday morning. From then until late Sunday afternoon, the Hall will be available for church use. Then, each Sunday evening, we'll welcome a new group of guests and begin the cycle again.

There's a problem, though. The very same frustrations we're seeing Faith bewail in the video are making it difficult to locate work assignments for our volunteers. Homeowners are telling us, "I'd like nothing better than to have someone help me rebuild my home. But I don't have any money for materials because I'm still waiting for my insurance check." Or, "I'm on a waiting list for a mechanical engineer to come and check out my foundation." Or, "I can't do anything till I find out if I've got to raise my house up." Or, I'm waiting for my mortgage officer to sign off on my application for financing."

Faith's description is apt. It truly feels like one of those "down the rabbit hole" experiences.

Alice and rabbit hole

Our visiting workers are very sensitive - as are we - to the importance of not creating further problems for homeowners by doing work that may have to undone later, as plans change. Some homeowners, as eager as they are to move forward, must hold back and wait till the time is right. But unfortunately, the sheer magnitude of Sandy is bigger than anything any of us have come across. Everyone's out of their element - not the least of which are the bankers, insurance adjusters, building inspectors and all the rest - the very people homeowners are depending on to get things moving at last.

Eventually, most of these volunteer work placements will be managed and overseen by the Ocean County Long Term Recovery Committee (OCLTRC), of which Peter Farwell is a member (he's co-chair of the Volunteer Management subcommittee). That group is getting organized to coordinate the long-term response. It's a frustratingly slow process, but our Presbyterian Disaster Assistance representatives tell us things are actually moving faster here than it in the case of previous disasters.

This is the group that 
FEMA has helped organize (but doesn't control), and for which the Ocean First Foundation and the Robin Hood Fund have provided start-up funding. It also enjoys the support of most national church groups, the Red Cross, the United Way and others. They will be coordinating the work assignments for the thousands of volunteer work groups that will be coming to the Shore Area in the next several years to assist homeowners with reconstruction.

The OCLTRC will be offering State-funded professional case management services based on financial information provided by FEMA and by the applicants themselves. Distribution of assistance will not be based on municipal boundaries, but will be done countywide, based on financial need as determined by the case management process.

This is the same pattern followed after Katrina, Ike, Gus and other hurricanes. It may seem like a slow response, but that's because it's for the long term. At just over 90 days out, the long-term process is on schedule, maybe even ahead of schedule. The goal of the OCLTRC is to provide assistance in a fair, financially transparent way (while still providing individual client confidentiality), following standard social-work criteria.

The short-term response groups that have sprung up all over the place deserve our thanks, but in time most of them will see the wisdom of coordinating their long-term work through the county organization, which will be able to provide their help to individuals in a fair and equitable way that focuses on the neediest first and that doesn't duplicate the efforts of other organizations.


Having closely followed the OCLTRC since its inception, I'm convinced it's the only way to go - in the long term. Yet, we also have work groups eager to come to our communities NOW to help us rebuild. We're proceeding cautiously on that, giving some of them a qualified "yes," advising them we're not sure how much, nor what kind of work will be available for them when they get here. We've prepared the groups that will be coming our way this February for that reality, and they're OK with it.

We're going on faith, in other words. As Jesus responded to a hungry multitude with five loaves and two fish, we're taking out the few jobs of which we have certain knowledge right now, breaking them and handing them around to our volunteer work teams.  With so much need out there, we're confident the Lord will point our guests to other jobs that need doing. We'll do our best, of course, to be active participants in that matching. But we do need to maintain our primary focus on providing hospitality to our visitors.

IF YOU KNOW OF JOBS the skilled members of our visiting work teams can do - for a single afternoon or for an entire week - please notify the Church Office, or call Peter Farwell at 908-675-7287. (The work needs to be in owner-occupied primary residences, not rental or commercial properties.)

If anyone says, "I could use some help, but shouldn't you go first to someone who needs it more?" then consider responding: "Sure, but we don't know anyone in worse shape than you who's ready just yet - so this week, you're it!"

If you have the sort of skills that enable you to speak with a homeowner who's looking for help, then assess the materials and labor needed to accomplish the task, we're especially eager to hear from you.

Please be assured it's not always going to be this way. One of the FEMA representatives working with the OCLTRC has described the task of simultaneously organizing that group's interlocking subcommittees as akin to those plate-spinners on the old TV variety shows. You start one plate spinning, then another, then another - and then you have to go back to the first one and give it another spin, before it wobbles and falls. Our church's piece of the volunteer-hosting task is one of the first plates that's been set to spinning. Right now, we're focusing on keeping it spinning, until all the other plates are spinning just as fast.

Plate spinner

Please be patient with the process. There may be some wobbling plates from time to time. But the truth is, we've got to start somewhere. Eventually, everything will be humming along just fine.

In Christ's love,

Carl

The Rev. Carl Wilton, Pastor


SBA Loan Application Deadline Date Extended 
 

If you have already submitted your SBA disaster loan application, please disregard this e-mail.

 

This is a reminder to individuals and businesses affected by Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey that the deadline to apply for a low-interest rate loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration is March 1, 2013, for physical damages.


In the aftermath of a federally declared disaster, SBA is the primary federal program for funding long-term disaster recovery for homeowners, renters and businesses.  Our records indicate you were previously sent an SBA disaster loan application. 

 

Do not wait to settle with your insurance company before applying for disaster loan assistance.  Waiting to file an SBA application could cause unnecessary delays in receiving disaster assistance and cause you to miss the filing deadline.

You must return your completed application on or before the filing deadline to be considered for a loan from the SBA or referral to FEMA for possible grant assistance that covers items such as personal property, vehicle repair and moving and storage expenses.  The SBA offers the option of filing your disaster home and/or business loan applications online through our secure website at:  https://disasterloan.sba.gov 

 

Individuals, renters, and business owners may also visit a FEMA/SBA Disaster Recovery Center (DRC) to obtain and/or submit disaster loan applications.  In addition, business owners and representatives may visit a SBA Business Recovery Center (BRC) for assistance with the application.  Recovery Centers are temporary assistance centers currently located in the following counties:  Atlantic County, Bergen County, Cape May County, Essex County, Hudson County, Middlesex County, Monmouth County, Ocean County, Passaic County, Union County.  Hours and locations may change.   

 

Please call our customer service center or visit our website for updated information on locations to receive assistance.  

 

You may view the Fact Sheet for this disaster at SBA.gov, Hurricane Sandy in New Jersey, Declaration #13367

 

If you have any questions or need assistance completing your application, please contact our Disaster Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or, for individuals with speech or hearing difficulties at 1-800-877-8339 (Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 6:00 pm, Saturday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm EST) or, via e-mail to: [email protected]

 

U.S. Small Business Administration

Disaster Customer Service Center

 



The Sandy Diaries

"The Sandy Diaries" is the name of a series of newspaper articles from the Harrisburg Patriot-News, about the experience of last week's Lend A Hand group that stayed in the Education Annex.

Members of the group sent email bulletins and photos to a newspaper reporter back home, who assembled the series of daily articles.

Here's a photo from the series, of Lend A Hand members working in the hurricane-damaged home of Carol Bonebrake, a PPPC member:

Lend a Hand volunteers

Click on the above link to check the series out! 


Waiting on God

"For there is still a vision for the appointed time;
it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, 
wait for it;
it will surely come, it will not delay.
"


Habakkuk 2:3  



PPPC Hurricane Response
 
HURRICANE SANDY RECOVERY COORDINATOR

Peter Farwell
(908-675-7287) is serving as our church's Hurricane Sandy Recovery Coordinator, serving as the main communication person for our recovery efforts and representing our church at coordinating meetings with other churches and non-profit agencies.

Members of the Board of Deacons are nearing completion of their effort to contact each church member or family by phone, just to make sure they're OK and to find out if there's anything we as a church can do to aid them in their Sandy recovery. If you haven't gotten one of these calls, please pick up the phone and call Kim or Donna in the church office, or send them an email.  

 



More Information

FACEBOOK GROUP

is a good place to keep up with your church friends, as they post messages about how they're getting along.

HOW TO REACH US


In the event that any of you are aware of anyone the church may need some help recovering from the storm, please feel free to email me, or call me either on the church line (732-899-0587) on our landline at the Manse (732-899-4858) or on my cell phone (908-910-5360). Associate, Linda Chase, may be reached at the church number or on her cell (732-232-5007).

FEMA INFORMATION

FEMA's local relief center has moved to 270 Chambers Bridge Road, Brick. There's also one at the Bay Head Fire House on Bridge Avenue.

Registering with FEMA is the first step to receiving the services and help the government provides. The application deadline has now been extended to MARCH 1, 2013. Register today, even if you're not sure what help you may qualify for. You'll be glad you did!

NEW JERSEY 211's RELIEF AND RECOVERY ASSISTANCE GUIDE

The downloadable New Jersey 211's Hurricane Sandy Relief and Recovery Assistance Guide is the place to go for all manner of Hurricane Sandy recovery resources.

PERSONAL COUNSELING SUPPORT

Call one of our pastors, or the Mental Health Association of New Jersey's Hurricane Sandy Hope and Healing hotline: (877) 294-HELP (4357)

OPERATION HOPE, FEMA-APPROVED FINANCIAL COUNSELING

Call toll-free: (877) 592-HOPE (4673)


Some Useful Links

Back issues of these updates are available here.


Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) - www.ready.gov

To contact the church office, please call 732-899-0587.