TEXAS: HOUSTON & COASTAL BEND HURRICANE RECOVERY UPDATE (April 2019)
CURRENT ACTIVITIES (RECOVERY PHASE) ●
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We are committed to the long-term recovery effort in Texas through August 2020; and we continue to provide recovery assistance to homeowners in Harris County and Aransas, San Patricio, and Refugio Counties, filling the immediate and unmet needs of homeowners still struggling to recover. Our recent partnership with Harvey Home Connect in Houston and ongoing collaboration with case management groups in Coastal Bend are connecting our teams to homeowners needing interior repair. In the past month, our teams completed seven homes; and are delighted to have seen a total of 55 homeowners and their families welcomed back into fully-finished interior spaces over the course of our programs thus far. Pictured at Left: Our team of site supervisors, CitySquare AmeriCorps Members, and volunteers surround homeowner Thelma Roberts. Thelma’s home has been in her family her entire life; and she embraced the team with constant gratitude and humor over the course of the build. Pictured at Right: A volunteer from SUNY Potsdam paints the ceiling on a Houston home.
Volunteer Voices “I had the great honor of helping to complete a home rebuild for a remarkable gentleman. You couldn’t pay me to do the hard work that was involved, but I gladly did it for AHAH and will do it again.”
This past month, a group of students from SUNY Potsdam energized the Houston team during their spring break. Their team’s leader shared, “It was great getting to know the homeowners, hear their stories, and see the progress on each project. The students we brought were really enjoying the work, and wished they could stay longer.”
OUR IMPACT
4,021
PEOPLE IMPACTED
1,114
JOBS COMPLETED
3,790 VOLUNTEERS
31,997
VOLUNTEER DAYS
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. Forty-one counties in Southeast Texas were designated as federal disaster areas; and one third of Houston was completely flooded, with an estimated 136,000 homes affected in Harris County alone. The Coastal Bend region was also hit especially hard, with $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, All Hands and Hearts – Smart Response has 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.
OUR MISSION To effectively and efficiently address the immediate and long-term needs of communities impacted by natural disasters. By listening to local people, and deploying a unique model of engaging volunteers to enable direct impact, we rebuild safe and resilient schools, homes, and other community infrastructure.
OUR TEXAS PARTNERS
5 YEARS IN A ROW! Only 10% of charities have received at least 5 consecutive 4-star ratings. This means All Hands and Hearts outperforms most of the other 1.5 million charities in America in operational and financial efficiency.
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