Happy Monday from The Big Apple!
The 16 members of our team left Sunday night from Friedens and headed for Brooklyn! After a few stops, we arrived at the Living Waters Fellowship church around 11:30 pm. While the ride mostly consisted of chatting and napping, the van provided us with some entertainment. It’s a little rickety, we don’t think the wheels are aligned properly, and the vent covers above the rows of seats began falling from the ceiling!
It was a beautiful day of travel, but it was definitely warm, so we needed the air conditioner in the van! In addition to the vents falling out, the individual slots for the vents are either open or closed. There’s not really an in-between to control the air intensity or direction. It’s also important to note that the back row of the van has no vents at all. Even though we tried to be creative and use clothespins and Kleenex packs to redirect the air and open the vents, Beth, Amy P. and Jayden were very hot “Tostitos” by the end of the trip and the rest of us, even bundled with blankets, were freezing Popsicles!
Another mild malfunction occurred with Barry and Eileen, who were following their GPS and going a different way to the church, followed the GPS and turned left on a street where left turns were no longer permitted. Shortly after, they became friends with two of New York’s finest residents in blue uniforms with flashing lights! Luckily, they were very kind and understanding and let them off the hook!
After getting past some accidents and stopping for a quick dinner, we made it to Living Waters. To learn more about Living Waters, click here. Everyone was very welcoming and the pastor stayed up waiting to welcome us even though he had to leave for a trip very, very early in the morning! This church was an old warehouse that has been converted, and they do a lot to serve the local community. We unloaded both vehicles, including our personal bags and everything we need for all of our meals. Another group, who left early this morning, was already asleep when we arrived. We not-so-quietly figured out our sleeping arrangements and got everything situated, getting a few hours of sleep before the morning came! Below are a few pictures of the church.
This morning, Nancy and Eileen, our amazing resident chefs for the week, and Barry, their faithful servant, had breakfast out and ready to go first thing in the morning! Even though it’s only our first day here, we already want to give them a huge shout-out for doing all the shopping and preparing for everything we need for our meals this week—that’s certainly a large and time-consuming task, but luckily it comes naturally (and wonderfully!) to them! We ate, packed our lunches and headed to the Friends of Rockaway headquarters in Rockaway, NY, about 45 minutes from Living Waters.
Once there, we learned a little bit about their non-profit organization that has been in operation since 2012 when Sandy hit. Friends of Rockaway (FoR) partnered with the St. Bernard Project, which originally began in 2006 to provide relief in New Orleans from Hurricane Katrina. Since the model and implementation strategies used in Louisiana were successful, it was decided they would operate a similar program here in New York. Friends of Rockaway also benefits from the support of Americorps members as some of their staff. Just from being in their headquarters for a few minutes, it is evident that their system is extremely organized and that they are dedicated to their work. You can learn more about Friends of Rockaway here.
Melanie, an Americorps member, explained to us that in addition to providing rebuilding support, they are also currently making an effort to “canvass” the entire peninsula door-to-door to do their best to confirm whether families and homes are still in need of rebuilding. During the first few years after Sandy, many families were seeking out the support FoR provided, but now that recovery is slowing down a bit, FoR is working to make sure everyone who qualifies has the chance to apply for support. Many of the families they serve are in need due to contractor fraud after the storm.
They have a huge map of the peninsula in their headquarters that shows every lot of land. Using a program on their cell phones that coordinates with the map, the FoR staff can either “blackout” each lot that does not need or qualify for support or “flag” properties for further investigation. If a homeowner wishes to apply, he or she must meet certain criteria to be eligible for support from FoR. For example, the individual must be the homeowner of the residence, must meet certain income requirements, must be able to prove that the damage is a result of Sandy, and must agree to remain in the home for at least five years after repair.
Our main task today was helping the FoR staff continue their canvassing efforts to blackout as many properties as possible. In small groups, we walked door-to-door, explaining the mission and role of FoR. If the homeowner said he or she was “all set,” that information was entered into the app on the phone and that property was blacked-out. If the homeowner was interested in learning more, a pre-application could be completed and future contact would occur at a later time. If no one answered the door, we left a small postcard with FoR information.
For the most part, people who answered the doors were very kind and appreciative. Some took time to share stories about their experiences. For example, one woman told us that she didn’t need any rebuilding support because everything had been repaired even though she received no financial support from FEMA or other New York government programs. However, she said that the money she had been saving during her working years to live off of during retirement has now all gone to the repairs of her home.
Through talking with several people, we also learned that New York’s government recovery program called Build It Back, seems to have left many homeowners “high and dry.” Many people we approached at their homes asked if FoR was associated with Build It Back because these families either still have open applications with the program or they program owes them money. Build It Back is closing in December, and there is supposedly a lot of money (taxpayer dollars) left that may not be used for the correct purposes or in the correct way. While most people seemed grateful and thanked FoR for their work, some seemed understandably frustrated regarding their recovery and support experience. It was a unique experience to be vulnerable in our door-to-door endeavors, but it helped us connect to FoR’s mission on a personal level and the angels we met at the doors who were caring for us and helping us to not be afraid.
We took a break from our canvassing to have our packed lunches on the beach since we were so close! The boardwalk here is 11 miles long, and they are still working on rebuilding and finishing parts of it.
On our way back to Living Waters, we stopped at a September 11th memorial that also gave us a great view of Manhattan. Once we returned to Living Waters and showered, we had delicious Salisbury steak, corn, carrots, potatoes, coleslaw, applesauce, bread, watermelon, and cherries–a true Somerset County meal!
After supper, there was definitely some cattin’ around, as Pastor Ed likes to call it, and, yes, it included ice cream! We walked a few blocks away to a Baskin’ Robbins for some sweet treats! For those of you that followed our trip to New Jersey in 2014 where we visited The Lighthouse every night near the calming beach for ice cream, the experience of ice cream in Brooklyn is definitely a different one!
Tomorrow morning is when we actually head to the home where we will be working! We know that the family is currently living in their home, but they still need support with demolition and rebuilding some parts.
Here are some ways we saw God today:
–Beauty of the beach during lunch
–Family members in houses we visited who were taking care of other family members
–Talking about the tragedy of Hurricane Sandy and loss of life
–Safe arrival and travels
–Father being a strong role model for sons at beach
–Beautiful flowers at all the homes we visited today
–Volunteers and workers with Friends of Rockaway
–Care from Nancy, Eileen, and Barry to feed us!
–Fellowship amongst our team and people at homes we visited
–Cool breeze from the ocean during a warm day outside
–Meals together
–Kids playing with each other on the street outside Living Waters
–Little boy selling lemonade at a stand along the street during our canvassing
–Graciousness of people willing to talk with us and be open to us even though we’re out of our comfort zone
–Support and prayers from everyone at home
–Diversity of the city and how they have learn to accept and co-exist
flcmissionteam 