Atlantic City Response
January 14, 2013
Residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and other parts of the south grow up hearing stories of the hurricanes that caused damage years ago. Hope Force Program Director Craig Snow has been coordinating efforts to assist in Atlantic City after Hurricane Sandy came ashore, and explained the major difference in the north: ?People here don?t have a family member or friend who can reference how to walk through this.?
In addition, the general response to Hurricane Sandy, at least in Atlantic City, has been to ?under respond?. While the media covered the effects of the hurricane, Atlantic City seemed somewhat overlooked and didn?t receive a large response. In a city the size of Atlantic City, this is somewhat shocking. While HFI often works in more remote forgotten areas, this hurricane has shown that even in larger cities, the neediest and most desperate people are still often overlooked. More than two months after Sandy came ashore, a wide mix of people still require assistance, many of them elderly.
HFI responded only days after the hurricane struck, assessing damage and helping to clean out homes. The arduous task of mucking out damaged houses continues and still looms ahead for many.
?Several hundred people have yet to remove their belongings from their home,? Snow reported.
Snow also explained: ?The storm brought the hurricane further north, but initially it wasn?t such a dramatic impact -- it was more of a gentle tide. The water didn?t come in at a force, but it still penetrated homes 3-4 feet inside, and then left.?
While there are a number of independent church groups ready to help out in Atlantic City, nobody is there to organize them. The task essentially has been left up to HFI, which is in a unique position to help rebuild Atlantic City.
Snow recently traveled to Atlantic City for strategic meetings with the church, civic and community leadership to help establish a long-term recovery center to assist with the enormous task of rebuilding.
The work will be long and arduous, but for the people of Atlantic City, they are finding hope in the small teams of dedicated volunteers who are helping them clean up their homes.
