Snow Leading Efforts in New Jersey

Two weeks after super storm Sandy wreaked havoc across the East Coast, the state of New Jersey is beginning work towards long-term recovery. Nearly all residents have power again, most schools have re-opened and the gasoline rationing has ended. However, despite this return to normalcy, residents will struggle to face an estimated $50 billion of damage to homes and businesses across the coast.

Hope Force Staffer Craig Snow is currently leading efforts in New Jersey with 20 other team members to provide practical, emotional, and spiritual support to residents. Snow explained that many people are in shock because the last time New Jersey experienced serious flooding was in 1962.

?There?s a tremendous amount of fear already amongst this population group and the cry for help continues to grow exponentially beyond our capacity,? Snow said. ?People are being encouraged to admit that they can?t do it all on their own and need help.?

Residents in need are reaching out to Hope Force and local churches, with 60 residents currently on a list for immediate needs. Hope Force has made contact with other recovery groups and may be receiving help in the hard hit area of Atlantic City, where the need outweighs the recovery efforts.

?It?s a new dimension of pressure that we haven?t faced before,? Snow said. ?We have begun discussions about re-examining the coming year. We?re sensing that our response to this disaster may not just be in the response phase, but segue into the rebuilding phase.?

Snow discussed a resident he met named Shirley, who had let her flood insurance lapse in order to feed her family. Directly after the flood she began a clean-up effort in her home, but the extent of mold damage that will develop in the carpets and plywood was far outside her means.

?I saw a sense of hope within her, but as I broke then news of the damage, it was almost like I was telling her someone she loved had died,? Snow said. ?I?d never seen such a dramatic response."

Snow began to better understand the urgent need for help when Shirley introduced him to her 86 year old mother who lives in an upstairs room of her home.

?I had to forcibly stop myself from promising her we would be there alongside the rebuilding process,? Snow said. ?We have to go through our own systems first before we can put people on the list, but I believe she?ll be on it. I think we?re going to be here much longer than we originally thought.?