Construction on four new homes destroyed during the 2016 flood is currently underway by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), thanks to new funding through West Virginia Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and the RISE program.
Locally based out of Rhema Christian Center, MDS is building four homes; two in Caldwell, one in Alderson, and one in Smoot. The program brings volunteers in to work on rebuilding or restoring houses for families who were unable to return. Cathy Rennard, Disaster Case Manager Supervisor for VOAD, explained that a number of volunteers and volunteer organizations helped work on new homes after the flood, MDS being one of the best examples.
“When you have a group of their caliber willing to come in and set up base camp for four months, you just get work done,” said Rennard.
Each week during the months-long project, new MDS volunteers come in, joining the long-term volunteers, allowing them a chance to get to know one another as they work on each home. The long-term volunteers include MDS Project Director Mike Stuckey, who spoke to the value of the program, not just to the families they help but the volunteers as well.
“For the weekly people, it’s a wonderful experience,” explained Stuckey. “They get to come in, work on a place, be a part of the community for that week, then they go back home. It’s a valuable vacation, [well] it’s not really a vacation, but it’s time away that is, in many ways, more refreshing than a vacation. … Every week, it’s really neat experience for us [the long-term team], we get to experience that over and over and over.”
MDS, including Stuckey, also worked on a number of homes shortly after the flood, using donated funds to build a number of homes destroyed in the natural disaster. He spoke fondly of a women who watched and talked to the volunteers the entire time they worked on her home years ago and the hours he spent on her porch, catching up, earlier this week.
“It’s a gift to be able to do it,” Stuckey said. “Everybody thinks it’s a gift they’re receiving, and it is, but it’s also a valuable lesson in living our faith. Living what we believe the world is about, what Christ taught. … It’s an important piece of what we’re called to do – be a neighbor, be a friend, whatever it is folks need.”
One of the homes belongs to Lucy Morrison, more commonly known as Anna; her son Jeff Morrison was working alongside the crews on Monday. Materials for the new home were funded by the RISE program, while MDS volunteers work on construction.
“This is a RISE house,” Rennard explained. “Everything that they’re working is from RISE. … [The state] had to revamp some things since it started – when they did that, we were given a subrecipient grant to take over case management. … Then, things got moving with the building and construction. They came back to us and said ‘would you consider taking a subrecipient grant to the bridge project and subreceipient grant to build houses using HUD money to buy materials, using volunteers, like you do?’ We’ve recovered 2,300 families since the flood, with all of our members and partners, like [MDS].”
Since the flood, Anna Morrison has been unable to go home due to the damage – thanks to RISE funds and MDS, the new house is well on its way to being livable.
“She’s looking forward to coming back,” said Jeff Morrison. “She’s lived here since I was six years old.”
Anyone who has unmet needs as a result of the June 2016 storm, including property and bridge damage, should seek more information by visiting one of the outreach centers, speaking with an eligibility specialist, calling 304-553-0927, or emailing bridge.info@wvvoad.org for bridges.
According to a press release from VOAD, applicants must have been impacted by the 2016 flood, reside in one of the 12 federally declared counties, including Greenbrier, Monroe, Pocahontas, and more, and must have owned their property when the disaster occurred.
“WV VOAD, who spearheads disaster response and recovery throughout the state, is supporting the Rise WV program as a subrecipient of CDBG-DR funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD),” reads the VOAD press release. “As a sub-grantee through West Virginia’s Department of Commerce Development office, WV VOAD is providing case management services as well as working with its voluntary organizations to construct private access bridges and homes.”
Read more in the Tuesday, February 18, 2020, edition of The West Virginia Daily News.
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