NYAC Recovery Update - ERT Teams forming for Texas and Florida

 

A volunteer guts drywall from a flooded home.

ERT and VIM Teams Needed for Hurricane Response

Florida 
The Florida Annual Conference needs teams right away.  All volunteers will be accepted, regardless of ERT training.  Individuals and teams are encouraged to register and should expect to be deployed in the southern part of the state.

Texas
The Texas Annual Conference (Houston and north Gulf Coast) is very much in need of volunteer help.  In the last few weeks, teams have mucked out and gutted more than 6000 homes, but they are still finding communities where the damage has not been assessed.  Volunteers should be over age 18, Safe Sanctuaries certified, and at least one member of the team should be ERT trained.
 
Rio Texas
The Rio Texas Conference (Corpus Christi and south Gulf Coast area) are taking ERTs for approximately another 6 weeks and are accepting reservations for Long-Term Recovery teams after that.  There are two different registration links, so make sure you use the right one!  Additionally, they are looking for individuals who would be wiling to volunteer for longer periods of time with site management and volunteer coordination.  Contact Eugene Hileman (aehileman@riotexas.org) if you can help with this ministry.

Puerto Rico and US Virgin Islands (US Territories)
This is still a government-controlled situation. They are in emergency relief phase and it is NOT appropriate for volunteers to go yet.  We will update you as this situation changes.  UMCOR is releasing grants to Puerto Rico quickly and talking daily with the Bishop and other church leaders on the islands.

Pause on collection of new relief supplies

Amy Fuselier, Director of the Relief Supply Network for UMCOR, shared that she was overwhelmed by the response from local churches to the call for relief supplies this Fall.  Thanks to your generosity, Texas and Florida have been fully supplied with cleaining buckets and hygiene kits.  There are 28,000 cleaning kits in the warehouse right now awaiting delivery to Puerto Rico when that becomes possible.  For the time being, do not begin any new collections of relief supplies.  Once more kits have been delivered, there will be space in the warehouse to hold more.

Over $8 million raised since Harvey!

Cathy Earl, Director of Disaster Response and US Partner Relations for UMCOR, reports that more than $8 million has been raised through the Advance for US Disaster Response since the beginning of this hurricane season.  These funds will be distributed to the response efforts for Harvey, Irma, and Maria as well as the wildfires in the West.  Keep up the good work!  We know this recovery will be long and expensive, so your donations really make a difference!  Use Advance #901670 to donate today.