RAISE REPORT
Hurricane Rita Recovery Efforts
Southeast Texas
It’s been 6 months since Hurricane Rita devastated Southeast Texas. The UMCOR office in Beaumont is in full operation with a staff of 8 working to assist individuals and families whose homes were damaged by the hurricane.
UMCOR has hosted 5 Family Advocate trainings in Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur resulting in 22 volunteers agreeing to serve as Family Advocates. The Family Advocate is a special person acting out of a deep faith whose role is to enable/empower survivors to help themselves as much as possible. They identify survivors’ needs and connect them to resources. Working one-on-one with disaster survivors puts their recovery in motion.
The response from our Brothers and Sisters from across this great country has been heart-warming. We have had more than 1,600 volunteers from 10 states representing 295 churches and/or faith-based organizations working on homes in the affected areas (October 5, 2005-March 17, 2006).
Our “Tree of Restoration” is finally sprouting leaves. Each leaf represents a home that has been completed. As of March 31, the tree had 25 leaves. Another 75 homes are in progress or are ready to be assessed. Approximately 200 potential clients are waiting to be assigned to Family Advocates. Recovery is slow but we are making progress every day.
Even though it’s been 6 months since the disaster, the phones continue to ring daily in the UMCOR office from people who need our help. We have a long way to go, but with God guiding us, we will make it through the challenges that still lie ahead. We know that our God is bigger than any storm!
