Two weeks ago, Columbia Habitat for Humanity went on its fall break build to New Dorp, Staten Island, exactly three years after Superstorm Sandy hit. We quickly found out that the recovery process is still far from over.
After every major natural disaster, relief organizations pop up one after another, seemingly out of nowhere. They provide hope and immediate help to those in need, but few have the personnel or resources to stick around long enough to make a long lasting difference, and many who are affected are left with damages to their homes that are felt deeply but are not able to be addressed. The organization we worked with that weekend, Rebuilding Together NYC, is one of the few organizations left helping to repair damages after the devastation and destruction of Sandy.
Rebuilding Together started as a grassroots community impact organization in Austin, TX in 1973. It has since grown into a national network that works with volunteers all over the country to help improve the lives of low-income homeowners and strengthen communities. Each year, about 100,000 volunteers come together to complete 10,000 projects. At a time when income inequality and housing insecurity continue to rise, and when in no state can a person making the federal minimum wage afford a two-bedroom home at local fair market rent, this work is so important. This makes it even harder to bounce back after disasters like Sandy, as insurance premiums skyrocket, and people are either priced out of their homes or forced to live under inadequate and unsafe conditions. Rebuilding Together works with these families to restore their homes so that they can be safe and healthy. They provide critical home repairs, accessibility modifications, and energy-efficient upgrades, and never ask for a single monetary contribution from the families. They even have a newly implemented Workforce Training Program that trains individuals for entry-level construction positions free of charge. And as if it couldn’t get any better, they got Morgan Freeman to be in this amazingly inspirational promotional video.
While the number of volunteers on a site fluctuates over time as groups come and go, Rebuilding Together continues to thrive with the help of its dedicated site leaders and organizers like Jimmy and Terry year round, who are sometimes left to do the work by themselves. So, as a very shameless plug for an organization that does good work, go help them out. Everyone deserves a roof over their head, but most importantly everyone deserves a safe and healthy home.