Hurricane Sandy Update #39
Meeting the Governor and the Prince
Point Pleasant Presbyterian Church
June 3, 2013
The most recent church e-newsletter, as well as copies of past Hurricane Sandy Updates, may be viewed in our online archive.

Greetings!

It's been a while since I've sent one of these bulletins out. As the Volunteer Village has been getting up to speed with weekly hosting of volunteers, the days have been full!

I heard something the other day that's both encouraging and disturbing at the same time. I was speaking on the phone with a leader of one of the volunteer work groups from out of state who will be coming to stay at our Volunteer Village this summer. He was commenting on all the news stories about the Jersey Shore being "open for business." Some of his volunteers were wondering if there would be any work for them to do in a couple of months!

That's not going to be a problem, I was quick to add.

Obama in Pt Beach Don't get me wrong - the tourism commercials are a good thing, the Governor cutting the five-mile-long ribbon to reopen the Shore is a good thing, the visits of Prince Harry and President Obama are a good thing. These positive reports boost the local economy, which is essential to folks around here getting and keeping jobs. Yet, the way the media works, one story  gets traction and gets repeated over and over, in various versions. This can edge out other stories that tell tje full story.

The piece that's often missing from these "y'all come down" (or "youse all come down") stories is news about how many hurricane survivors are struggling with another sort of storm. It's a perfect storm of government red tape, insurance company intransigence, uncertain flood-zone maps, mortgage-holder foot-dragging and hard-to-find contractors. Not every news commentator follows up with a report on all the year-round residents who haven't yet begun reconstruction, or are having to proceed in its and starts, as money becomes available and as they work their way up tp the top of the contractors' waiting lists.

Then, there are the reports of the horrific tornado that hit Moore, Oklahoma. Our hearts go out to the people there, but the unfortunate result for us is that news of this latest natural disaster edges out older stories like ours. With every month that goes by, and every new report of disaster elsewhere, the plight of Sandy survivors recedes further from the front page.

Our ever-helpful PDA National Response Team members warned us this would happen. They were especially concerned to get as many Volunteer Villages as they could to open their doors before the summer - which is the peak season for church mission trips. As July becomes August, and August September, more and more volunteer groups may think about going elsewhere to help with more recent disasters.

The National Response Team members have seen this happen before, in other places.  It's inevitable, they point out. It's just human nature.

They were quick to remind us, though, that we're not forgotten, and that PDA is always one of the last relief agencies to turn off the lights, once the recovery is complete.

That, of course, is a long way off. The long-term recovery phase has barely begun. We're going to be in this for quite some time!

Thank you for all your support.

In Christ's love,

Carl

The Rev. Carl Wilton, Pastor


World Renew Is Coming
Green shirts
They call them the "green shirts." They're an essential part of disaster recovery, and they're coming to our area.

The green shirts are volunteers with World Renew, the disaster-recovery agency of the Christian Reformed Church.

Each major Christian denomination has evolved its own specialty in the world of disaster relief. The "blue shirts" of Presbyterian Disaster Assistance specialize in volunteer housing. The "red shirts" of UMCOR (the United Methodist Committee on Relief) do case management. The green shirts of the CRC canvass neighborhoods and gather information that's essential to determining who still needs help, what sort of help they need and where they live. They're sort of like the Census Bureau of hurricane recovery.

More than just gathering information, World Renew volunteers also connect Sandy survivors with various sources of help for which they qualify, some of which they may not have known about. These "Community Needs Assessments" are completely free, and are more than worthwhile for those who are still in recovery.

World Renew volunteers are going to be setting up shop in some special drop-in centers for a few days later this month. Two of these will be in Northern Ocean on June 14, 15 and 17. They will be at the Brick Elks, 2491 Hooper Avenue and the Point Pleasant Elks, 820 Arnold Avenue, Point Beach.

You can download a flyer that tells more about these community assessments. It lists some of the other World Renew drop-in center locations in the County as well.

World Renew logo If you're in recovery mode following Hurricane Sandy, you're strongly encouraged to stop by for a World Renew assessment. It will not only help you, but it will also help all the various relief agencies know what sort of help continues to be needed, so they can reach out in response.

The Ocean County Long Term Recovery Group (OCLTRG) is working closely with World Renew. They're looking for a few good people to step forward to help welcome visitors at the drop-in centers on June 14, 15 and 17 (Friday, Saturday and Monday). If you can help on one of those days, even for just a few hours, please email or call Peter Farwell at his OCLTRG office, 732-569-8928.


New Grant Program from the State

Jersey Strong billboard
Governor Christie has announced that applications are now being received for the reNew Jersey Stronger housing assistance initiative to assist homeowners impacted by the storm. Over $780 million is available to assist homeowners to rebuild.

The grants are designed to encourage homeowners to resettle in their primary residences and help them reconstruct, rehabilitate and/or elevate their homes.

This program is separate from New Jersey's Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery grants, which have already been announced. The CDBG Action Plan details how the State will utilize $1,829,520,000 in federal funding to help homeowners, renters, businesses and communities impacted by Sandy.

Two types of grants are available under the program:

Homeowner Resettlement: This program provides a $10,000 grant award to eligible Homeowners whose primary residence was damaged by Sandy.  This program requires you to remain in or return to Sandy impacted communities.

Homeowner Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM): This program provides up to $150,000 for eligible Homeowners to repair, elevate or rebuild their primary residences in the affected communities.

"Sandy may have damaged homes in New Jersey," said Governor Christie, "but it did not destroy New Jerseyans' spirits. With the help of initiatives such as reNew Jersey Stronger housing grants, we will be back, stronger than ever."

Eligible homeowners can apply for grant assistance at
www.renewjerseystronger.org

or by calling 1-855-SANDYHM (1-855-726-3946).



Meet Tony Maimone, Our Student Assistant for Sandy Recovery

Tony Maimone
Anthony "Tony" Maimone, a student in the Master of Divinity program at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, has started work as PPPC's Student Assistant for Sandy Recovery. In this summer internship, Tony is working particularly with the Volunteer Village. This position is funded by the grant we received from the Hurricane Sandy New Jersey Relief Fund.

Tony is working closely with members of the Hurricane Sandy Recovery Team, and is on hand most Sunday evenings to greet each new volunteer work group and help orient them. He  also returns for a weekday evening to check in with them and see how their week is going.

Tony has years of experience working as a compliance officer in the corporate world, and continues to work full time while he attends seminary at New Brunswick in the evenings.

He lives in Manasquan with his wife, Rosanna, and their two teenaged sons.



"Dining for Dollars" To Help Belmar Presbyterians

First Presbyterian, Belmar
The only church in Monmouth Presbytery to suffer serious damage to their building from Hurricane Sandy was First Presbyterian, Belmar. Their basement - which contains their church hall and kitchen, as well as the machinery for an elevator they installed several years ago - was completely flooded during the storm. Damage to the building is substantial, and it appears that the church will need to raise hundreds of thousands of dollars to complete repairs that were not covered by insurance (because the damage was due to flooding).

Our friends at Brick Presbyterian are planning a fun - and delicious - way to raise a little money to help our fellow Presbyterians in Belmar, and have invited us to join in with them. They have arranged with Simko's Restaurants (both locations, in Brick and Brielle) for several "Dining for Dollars" days, June 18th, 19th and 20th. If you eat lunch or dinner at Simko's on any one of those days - and BRING THE SPECIAL PROMOTIONAL FLYER with you, Simko's will donate 20% of your check to this cause.

You MUST bring a copy of the flyer with you in order to participate. Copies will not be available at the restaurant, but you may click on the link, above, to download a copy. Thank you!


Prepare for the 2013 Hurricane Season

Hurricane kit
We know this is not the message you're looking to hear, so soon after Sandy, but FEMA has just issued a reminder of things to do to prepare for the 2013 hurricane season. Preparation includes keeping emergency supplies on hand, having an evacuation plan, and other timely concerns.

Check out this article from the FEMA website for more information.
 


Together Through Thick and Thin

"Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep."

Romans 12:15  
 




Beachgoers