Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later

7/27/2019 Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later

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S U P E R S T O R M S A N D YDAYS AFTER

The mission o Catholic Charities agencies is to provide service

people in need, to advocate or justice in social structures, and to c

the entire church and other people o good will to do the sam


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2 CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA | ONE YEAR SUPERSTORM SANDY REPORT


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It is hard to believe that one year has passed since October when communities rom

West Virginia to Connecticut were aected by the ury o Superstorm Sandy.

I visited the areas aected shortly thereater, and it was impossible not to be struck

by the awesome power o nature and its ability to wipe out entire communities.

Neighborhoods were swept away, giant banks o sand loomed where playgrounds

used to sit; it was enough to take your breath away. But I also saw the earless

resolve o the emergency responders on the ground Catholic Charities sta and

volunteers who saw the need and rushed to assist the devastated areas without

hesitation, providing warm meal, a change o clothes, or even just a hug.

Their work in the immediate days ater Sandys impact was elt just as the beginning

o their commitment to serve those communities. This report is just a small sam-

pling o the work that has been done to respond to the need in the last year. In the

months since Superstorm Sandy, Catholic Charities USA has been able to distribute

upwards o $14 million worth o grants and in-kind donations to Catholic Charities

agencies aected by Superstorm Sandy this has been only possible because o

the generosity o spirit displayed by donors across the nation.

Catholic Charities USAs Disaster operations team and local agencies will continue

its work to rebuild the lives orever altered by the ury o the storm, and are commit-

ted to doing so long ater the disaster is gone rom ront page headlines, because

we know that is when the long-term recovery and rebuilding begins.

Your generosity has made our continued response possible, and the Catholic Chari-

ties network and all whose lives weve touch are grateul or your support.

Warmly,

Father Larry Snyder, President

Catholic Charities USA

CATHOLIC CHARITIES USA | ONE YEAR SUPERSTORM SANDY REPORT


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THANKSGIVING 2012Saving a Small Piece of Holiday Tradition

Superstorm Sandy struck just as the leaves were changing

on the trees and amilies were preparing to visit their loved

ones during the holiday season. With their lives turned

upside down, many o those in the storms path aced a

Thanksgiving without the comorts o home or the amiliar traditions

that bring such meaning to that time o year.

Those providing disaster response services to the communities a-

ected werent about to let the holidays pass by without trying to

restore some o the joy o the season or these amilies who had

lost so much. Catholic Charities USA mobilized a national campaign

to provide turkeys or the holidays to those in storm-battered ar-

eas. At $15 a turkey, anyone could give back to help those acing

a Thanksgiving or Christmas unlike they had ever known, and many

did. All told, the network o Catholic Charities donors and supporters

banded together to provide 10,000 amilies with a special holiday

meal and a tangible expression that, in the atermath o a natural

disaster, they were not alone.

For amilies putting together the pieces o their lives ater the storm,

holidays such as Thanksgiving, Christmas, and the entire holiday

season could have been a reminder o how much they had lost.

But thanks in part to the generosity o Catholic Charities donors, it

became a time to reect on all they had to be grateul or and look

orward to.



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Catholic Charities USA mobilized a national campaignto provide turkeys for the holidays to those in storm-battered areas. At $15 a turkey, anyone could give backto help those facing a Thanksgiving or Christmas unlike

they had ever known, and many did.



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FROM THE ARCHIVES:NOVEMBER 2012

Father Larry Snyder - Think and Act Anew | www.thinkandactanew.org

Im always amazed by the strength o the human spirit.

Having just returned rom visiting Catholic Charities agencies in New

York and New Jersey aected by Superstorm Sandy, I was touched

by the acts o kindness and generosity I personally witnessed rom

sta, volunteers, and neighbors who just want to help those looking

to put their lives back together.

I met a pizza shop owner in Staten Island who has been providingpizzas to amilies with no power or heat who need something to eat.

Its the least he can do, he told me. His pizza truck parked outside

an agency distribution center, he becomes overwhelmed when talk-

ing about the destruction the hurricane caused, saying he plans to

stay there at the site or as long as the community needs him.

I met volunteers who have been working nonstop since the Hurri-

cane passed -- stafng distribution sites, sorting through donations

and organizing items so that, as one volunteer explained, people

can go Fast-in and Fast-out, adding, Asking people i they need

help is just as important as providing it to them. Sometimes people

come in, have a good cry, and then I help them get what they need.

I met a amily in New Jersey who were dropping o goods at a distri-

bution center to donate to the amilies aected. They were some

o the lucky ones, they explained, and while they had seen thetelevision coverage o the atermath, they were shocked to see just

how real the destruction had been, having to pass through some

o the impacted areas or the frst time telling me, This is a whole

new experience or New Jersey.



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And I met dozens o sta at our local agencies who have been work-

ing every day since the storm frst hit. As one agency director ex-

plained, In some ways, sta impacted by storms want to come to

work to take their minds o the loss elt at home. Many agencysta are leading disaster response eorts and conducting damage

assessments, things that werent something they necessarily signed

up or or something that alls under their job description, but its

incredible to see so many step-up and do whatever they need to do.

They are tired, the stress level is high, but they know that they are

part o a network o more than 65,000 employees, each willing to

help in whatever way they can.

Some o this help comes rom the donations we have received rom

people across the country, or CCUSAs disaster und. These dona-

tions go directly to support such things as:

Case management and emergency assistance which includes im-

mediate health/medical needs, ood and water, shelter, clothing,

critical child care and transportation;

Cleaning and house repair assistance which includes house

muck-outs, debris removal, utility assistance, urniture and ap-

pliance replacement, home repairs, and complete home rebuilds;

Emergency evacuation assistance which includes relocation, safe

housing, transportation, and temporary sheltering needs; and

Long-term recovery needs which include big ticket items that

oten times occur when reestablishing a home, such as roo re-

placements, hot water heater/air conditioner/urnace replace-ments, and complete home rebuilds.

During my visits, I was able to present agencies with ten thousand

dollar grants, a down-payment which serves as a reminder that we

are committed to doing what we can to help each o these agencies

recover.

As my previous experiences with such disasters as Hurricane Katrina

have taught me, even though the storm has passed, the recovery

eorts are just beginning. Thanks to our agency network and the

continued generosity o the thousands looking to help those in need,

we will continue to provide support to our local agencies until all

those aected have rebuilt.



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An elderly couple living in Newark, New Jersey, could hear

the wrath o Sandy beginning to arrive and went down to

the basement to stock up on provisions only to fnd that

the storm had already ooded out their entire ground oor.

Forced to evacuate, they let town with just what they could ft in a

small rolling suitcase. Their car was ruined. The home they had lived

in or nearly 50 years was deemed uninhabitable.

Ater the storm passed, they returned, devastated by the scope and

severity o the storm damage. Unable to undertake the massive re-

pair project, they eared they would lose that house which had seen

so many memories. They turned to Catholic Charities o Newark,

which provided them with a damage assessment and assigned case

managers to address their plight. Working together, they secured

unding to provide repair work, install new ooring, and ensure that

their house, though damaged, would be rebuilt.

Whenever disaster strikes, Catholic Charities agencies are there

with boots on the ground, working alongside those that are in need.

Their determination and collaboration brings help into the darkest o

hours and supports those impacted on their long journey to restore

what they had lost.

SCENES FROM SANDYNEWARK, NEW JERSEY



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Whenever disaster strikes, Catholic Charities agencies arethere with boots on the ground, working alongside those thatare in need. Their determination and collaboration bringshelp into the darkest of hours and supports those impacted

on their long journey to restore what they had lost.



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Catholic Charities agencies in the dioceses o Bridgeport

and Hartford, Conn.; New York City, and Long Island, N.Y.;

Metuchen, Newark, Paterson, Trenton, and Camden, N.J.;

Philadelphia; Wilmington, Del.; and Wheeling-Charleston,

W.V. were on the ront lines o responding to Sandys

widespread impact.

CCUSA has also pledged to provide additional services

in the orm o long-term recovery grants totaling roughly

$5 million or disbursement over the next 5 years.

CCUSA and our agencies continue to help those stillaected by this disaster and will be able to continue to

support these eorts thanks to your generosity.

THERE FOR THE LONG TERMMillions were aected by Hurricance Sandy; Catholic

Charities USA & our agencies are there or the long term.



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Catholic Charities USA

October 29

Catholic Charities USA and our local agencies are

prepared to assist with shelter, ood, and immediate

or long-term needs related to Superstorm Sandy.

Stay sae.



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2050 Ballenger Avenue, Suite 400

Alexandria, VA 22314

www.CatholicCharitiesUSA.org

CCUSA assisted 15 dierent Catholic Charities agenciesin their critical disaster work.s

Provided 11 emergency grants totaling over$350,000.s

Distributed 9 long-term Disaster Funding grants totaling nearly $4,240,354.s

Served 6 dierent states in their immediate and long-term disaster response needs.s

Thanks to the eorts o the U.S. Catholic Bishops, CCUSA will be distributing an additional$8,000,000 to support ongoing recovery eorts.

s

CCUSA RESPONSEFOLLOWING SUPERSTORM

SANDYFACTS & FIGURES:

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Superstorm Sandy: One Year Later