TEXAS HURRICANE RECOVERY UPDATE SEPTEMBER 2019
TOTAL PROGRAM IMPACT
4,184 4,060
LIVES IMPACTED VOLUNTEERS
36,445
VOLUNTEER DAYS
1,137
JOBS COMPLETED
Current Activities Officially 2 years later and we are making tremendous progress. There has been an outpouring of support through the community, donors, and other on-the-ground organizations. Last month, our team returned 12 homeowners into safe, resilient homes - officially putting us over 100 homes rebuilt in Texas! While there has been incredible work done, over two years later, the need is still immense. Everyone on the ground is doing amazing work and we are still actively looking for more volunteers to join the team on both programs in Texas every day - creating more opportunities to help the community. Reach out to see how you can join!
Spotlight To honor and reflect on the two-year anniversary of Hurricane Harvey, CBS This Morning went down to Houston to see first hand the progress that has been made and what still needs to be done, two years later. While there, they interviewed our team and got a first hand look at two of the homes we were working on.
“When Harvey struck on August 25, 2017, Houston had never seen
anything like it. Bringing 60 inches of rain in five days, Harvey damaged or destroyed 300,000 buildings and homes. And two years later, long after most disaster response aid ended, the recovery is far from over. For Ollie Goss, who's lived in Houston for her entire life, the past two years were "hell." … Goss and her husband Leonard escaped, but were unable to rebuild their ruined home alone. Instead, their home was saved by a group called All Hands & Hearts. "Our big thing with Harvey was arrive early, stay late," said LB Cook, who runs the Houston operation. … the Goss' home is now complete …. "We completed the house and [Lenard] said that we officially made him happy again," she said through tears. ” - CBS This Morning
Learn about our programs at
allhandsandhearts.org
Disaster Profile Hurricane Harvey made landfall on August 25, 2017, near Rockport, TX as a Category 4 Hurricane that produced a record 52" of rain and 130-mph winds. One third of Houston was completely flooded, with an estimated 136,000 homes affected in Harris County alone. The Coastal Bend region was hit especially hard, and experienced $4.5 billion in damage to an estimated 39,927 structures. Destruction in this region was magnified by high speed winds that took down trees and destroyed roofs, amplifying interior water damage far beyond that caused by the storm surge and flooding. Structures were afflicted with top-down water damage that led to long-term struggles in keeping homes dry, as well as debris and tree hazards littered throughout the region.
Our Work Thanks to critical support from donors, partners and volunteers from around the world, we have been in Houston and Coastal Bend since the immediate days after Hurricane Harvey. During the response phase, our teams were able to complete an impactful 16-week response program in Coastal Bend and an 18-week program in Houston. Since February 2018, our commitment to the recovery effort has concentrated site supervisors and volunteers on constructing high quality interior repair. We are driven by the continued recognition of the immense scale of need that still exists in Texas; and the compassion of volunteers to keep coming back.
About All Hands and Hearts We effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. We communicate directly with local leaders and community members and then deploy our unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, helping to build safer, more resilient schools, homes and infrastructure. We have been awarded a 4-star rating by Charity Navigator five years in a row, placing us in the top 10% of all non-profits evaluated for financial and operational efficiency.
Our Partners in Texas
info@allhandsandhearts.org (508) 758-8211