The St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group (LTRG) was formed after the impact of two back-to-back Cat 5 hurricanes: Irma and Maria. It is also mobilizing post-Dorian. The LTRG is a collective of individuals, businesses, non-profit and faith-based institutions whose goal it is to unite recovery resources with community needs. The LTRG ensures that the most vulnerable among Virgin Islanders can safely return to their homes as quickly as possible and be wholly recovered from ongoing impacts of storms.
St. Croix has more than 10,000 homes that were severely damaged or destroyed during Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017. Many had their homes further damaged during Hurricane Dorian (2019). Without access to traditional disaster-SBA loans and FEMA assistance, these elderly and low income homeowners have no other funding options when it comes to repairing their homes, access to health services, and rebuilding their lives.
The LTRG has prioritized low income, elderly, disabled, single families, and other vulnerable members of the community who have no other resources or options available to recover from the disaster. By utilizing volunteers, community resources, and donations, the LTRG will be able to not only rebuild homes, but partner with residents throughout the process to ensure that all their needs are met and returning them to where they were before the storms.
Through our wholistic approach, the residents we work with leave the process not only with a reconstructed home, but also with a sustainable recovery plan. We work with them to plan for future disasters to try and mitigate the impact of the effect of storms.
