Temporary Shelter for Hurricane Florence survivors

COVID-19 is currently all over the news and affecting everyone across North Carolina and around the country. As we all social distance and try to stay home as much as possible, there continue to be hundreds of low-income Hurricane Florence survivors in the state who are still struggling to recover. They continue to live in damaged or temporary housing during this very difficult time.

As the result of a recent grant from GlobalGiving to provide recovery assistance to Hurricane Florence survivors, LSC has been able to serve 33 additional survivor households, comprised of 67 adults and children since March 2020. Of these, 17 households were headed by individuals over the age of 65.

With GlobalGiving grant funding, Lutheran Services Carolinas (LSC) case managers have been able to help survivors with a variety of needs, including providing temporary housing, assisting with home repairs, purchasing much needed furniture and appliances, and helping individuals with past due tax bills in order to help them qualify for rebuilding assistance.

Numbers alone can not fully demonstrate the impact GlobalGiving has made for Hurricane Florence survivors. To better illustrate, here are a few stories of survivors helped with GlobalGiving funding:

• In Craven County, an elderly survivor of both Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Florence was due to finally have his home repaired so he could go back to the home he had been displaced from for years. Repairs were scheduled to be completed in early April, but were delayed a week due to heavy rains. During the delay, the survivor tested positive for COVID-19 and needed a safe place to quarantine. With grant funding, LSC was able to secure proper CDC recommended emergency shelter to protect the survivor and the public.  “It is an amazing feeling to know that people care,” said the survivor.

• A single mother with three children sustained a damaged roof during Hurricane Matthew in 2016. Due to limited income, she had a friend patch it. Just two years later, Hurricane Florence ripped through their town and caused repeat and even more severe damage to her roof. She again had a friend patch as best as they could with the limited money she had on hand, but the roof continued to have constant leaks causing ongoing water damage in her home. Grant funding allowed LSC to help this family get a proper roof repair.

• Throughout affected counties in North Carolina, survivors who have been waiting since the hurricane hit in the fall of 2018 to have their homes repaired and their belongings replaced have had to experience even more delays during the pandemic. To meet their needs, the LSC Disaster Team created and followed COVID-19 no-contact protocols for purchasing and delivery of vital items, such as furniture, to these survivors. According to an 83 year old survivor, "Even in a global crisis, Lutheran Services Carolinas found a way to safely help us get what we needed to finally get out of the FEMA camper and back into our home."