Rebuilding St. Croix, USVI

In the disaster response world, people will often speak in acronyms. In fact, you can have entire conversations in a series of acronyms. So, let's explain the title of this project report (since it limits us to 50 characters): NY VOAD stands for New York Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. Every state and territory in the U.S. has a state VOAD and are guided by the National VOAD. This organization has been in existence for more than 40 years and has national partners representing more than 50 organizations.

Why is this important? NVOAD practices the "4 C's": collaboration, communication, cooperation, and coordination. It allows for civic groups to partner with government groups to fill the gaps during disaster recovery. It is particularly important to us because of the resources that these 50 organizations offer to us as partners in this large umbrella.

This reporting period we were able to utilize GlobalGiving funding with FEMA Invitational Travel to bring Peter Gudaitis to St. Croix for three capacity building workshops. Peter currently serves as Executive Director & CEO of New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), Chair of New York VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), and President of the National Disaster Interfaiths Network (NDIN). He has over 30 years of experience in chaplaincy, disaster emergency management, faith-based philanthropy, program management, and social services administration –including almost a decade in Emergency Medical Services.

Currently, Peter is a member of the Faith-based Caucus of the International Association of Emergency Managers; Guest Lecturer and Advisory Board member for the Metropolitan College of New York, Emergency and Disaster Management Program; Contributing Fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at the University of Southern California; Chair of New York State VOAD (Voluntary Organization Active in Disaster) and, has served on the Board of Directors of New York City VOAD for over fifteen years.

The first workshop was part of a Faith Leaders Breakfast where we gathered 81 faith leaders from 43 faith organizations for a time to network, learn, and participate. The day opened by hearing from a few leaders about their faith tradition--what language they use and how community service ties into their faith. 

Peter then led the group through a presentation on emotional and spiritual care and the role a faith leader fulfills in times of disaster and crisis. Faith leaders reported on the gaps that they saw in their communities following the 2017 storms and discussed ways that they could partner with other faith leaders to fill these gaps in times of crisis. The next breakfast will be held in the beginning of 2020 and these initial plans will be furthered discussed and written out.

The second workshop took place during a St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group (STX LTRG) Town Hall. Community members and LTRG leadership worked with Peter to discuss the benefits of revamping and building the Virgin Islands VOAD (in partnership with our sister islands) and the St. Croix COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) specific to the island of St. Croix. The VI VOAD is currently conducting a membership drive to engage community leaders, non profit organizations, local businesses, and government entities into the work that the VI VOAD needs to do as the LTRG continues to focus on the recovery needs of the community.

The third workshop was particularly impactful and timely for our island. Since the 2017 storms, St. Croix has seen a steady rise in violence--specifically gun violence. There is a severe lack of mental health resources on island and this crisis is direct result. This full-day workshop focused on trauma and the effect it has on mental health and then transitioned into ways that the 25 faith leader participants could take immediate action to intervene and help get this crisis under control.

These workshops would not have been as impactful without the expertise that Peter brought. And his participation was only made possible through the generous donations to GlobalGiving. Thank you for allowing us to continue to make our community whole.