Category: Disaster Response

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Disaster Response Events

ACS DR Advisory 2018

The ACS Disaster Response personnel around the North American Division gathered together in Providence, Rhode Island on May 6-7 for the annual DR Advisory just before the National VOAD Conference. There were around 50 individuals present to discuss new initiatives and share some of the work that is taking place around the Division and beyond.

One of the initiatives discussed was a new course offering Delivering Powerful, Purposeful Presentations. In partnership with the NAD Education Department, this course was created as one of the requirements for our DR Instructors that will better prepare them to offer classes to ensure the best possible services throughout the Division. It will be offered over the next year in various locations in each Union to those interested in becoming or remaining certified Instructors. An overview of our Warehouse Management System, Flowtrac, was given by Dan Hoover. He talked about the system operations, and the many adjustments that have been made to deal with some of the realities on the ground. We will be working on putting together a training program to support Flowtrac in Conferences around the Division.

Dan Weber, NAD Communications Director, presented a Communications perspective that should lead to increasing our ability to inform others of the great work our teams are participating in in their areas. Simple suggestions like how to take a picture and how to set up relationships with the media can increase the exposure of the assistance our Church is offering to others. One of the National VOAD Board members, April Woods, thanked the attendees for their partnership and participation throughout the year. She spoke of the benefit of coming together to help the community.

The Advisory ended with each Union taking the opportunity to speak through their Conference Leads. Hearing the tremendous work ACS DR is participating in in so many different areas of service was extremely encouraging to all. From Warehouse Operations to Sheltering to Feeding programs to Rebuilding work, the discussion was exciting and showed the heartfelt dedication of our people. Everyone present was truly appreciative of this opportunity where they could gather together to discuss how their efforts can be combined to increase the service we are able to give to others in our community.

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Community Development Disaster Response Hurricanes Rebuilding

Michigan Students Assist in Rebuild Project

A group of eleven missionary students from Michigan State University – CAMPUS ministries made the most of their spring break by volunteering their time and services towards the Rebuild Project in Houston, Texas. On March 1, Thursday, they took off for their week-long mission trip. Going into the trip, they were not entirely sure what to expect and what was expected of them, However, the students reported that the whole experience turned out to be a beautiful blessing for all of them.

The students worked in a Buddhist community called Rosharon, that was severely impacted by Hurricane Harvey. A lot of the people were either from Cambodia or Laos and they didn’t have any flood insurance. Their homes and property were completely destroyed. Some of them were living in wood sheds covered with tarp. Nevertheless, the students praised and thanked God for sparing their lives and for sending numerous people there to help rebuild homes in the community.

The student missionaries were able to stay onsite right in the community. Several families had agreed to open up their homes for the year to accommodate volunteers, missionaries, and humanitarian aid workers who would be providing assistance with hurricane relief in the community. Some of the tasks the students undertook were tearing down old houses in order to build new ones, painting, remodeling, driving the skid steer, cleaning out homes, and picking up garbage. In addition, they had the privilege of meeting the beautiful residents of the community who were grateful and appreciative of their services. The students not only showed their love and compassion to them, but also to their precious animals.

The students also enjoyed working in partnership with other groups and relief organizations. Most of the people who were there to help in this area were Christians, so it was a blessing for them to be able to meet other believers, and see how God is also using them to reach the people in the community of Rosharon. “It was a week filled with very dirty work and little running water, but I saw God’s goodness throughout it all, and it was an experience I’ll never forget,” said Chris Matts, one of the student missionaries. He added, “Pray for those in our world that are in need of the things that we so often take for granted. It was truly an eye opening experience to see that you don’t have to travel outside of our country to help those who are in need. It was an incredible trip that opened our eyes to the humility and love of Jesus, the spiritual battle that we’re in, our own desperate need for Christ, and it showed us that God can still use us just as the broken vessels we are to do His work.”

Click here to see photos from their mission trip.

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Disaster Response Fires

Sunstone Town Homes Fire in Colorado

On March 26 around twenty Sunstone Town homes in southeast Colorado Springs were destroyed by a three-alarm fire caused by carelessly-discarded live cigarettes. Three people were taken to the hospital, and more than 70 residents were displaced. Cathy Kissner, Adventist Community Services Director, reported about ACS’s response to the tragedy. “We are greatly saddened by the loss of the town homes in the Colorado Springs area and our team from Colorado Springs, Woodland Park, and Pueblo are working together, along with the community, to help the families re-establish normalcy,” Kissner said. “Our primary objective is to show the love of the Father to his hurting children,” she added.

A collection Distribution Center was open from 8 am – 6 pm at the nearby Springs Adventist Academy. The standard needs of the survivors were personal hygiene items, paper plates, paper cups, paper towels, plastic silverware, and new air mattresses. “As an agency, we are connecting a home-schooling family with the home-school association in Colorado Springs,” Kissner added. ACS also partnered with the Red Cross, Catholic Charities, Salvation Army, and the LDS Church where each organization supported a specific need. Monetary donations are being encouraged now to support the relief efforts since many in-kind donation centers have filled up quickly.

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Disaster Response Floods Tornadoes

ACS Responds to Midwest Disasters

The recent February rains and melting snow in the Midwest has caused widespread flooding in several States, resulting in road closures, damage of homes and property, and even some fatalities. Evacuations have been underway in areas that were swamped by high water from the rain and melting snow runoff. Several regions in the Midwest have declared a state of emergency. The Michigan and Lake Region Conferences have been working with partner organizations and members of the community in providing food, temporary shelter, and other essential needs.

On February 24, Saturday night, an EF-2 Tornado hit the small community of Malden in Missouri State. It is a small town of under 5,000 residents located southwest of Sikeston. There were over 75 structures that were impacted with 11 homes fully destroyed and another 11 majorly damaged. The Iowa-Missouri Conference ACS Disaster Response Team is involved in the response efforts by supporting the Multi Agency Resource Center (MARC) with at least 12 ACS DR Ambassadors providing guidance and emotional support to impacted residents at the Center. ACS Volunteers from the surrounding communities of Cape Gerardo, Popular Bluff, and Sikeston, along with others from St. Louis are also providing assistance to the survivors.

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Community Disaster Response Floods

N2N Assists Michigan Flood Survivors

The Berrien community in Michigan, as well as its neighboring communities, were seen either in need or helping those in need post the devastating floods that occurred recently. Several organizations and faith-based groups, including The American Red Cross, were on the scene assisting the survivors with shelter and food.

The Neighbor to Neighbor (N2N) Center, a ministry of ACS located in Berrien Springs, has also opened its doors to assist those affected by the floods. They have been providing supper daily and are gearing up to feed cooked meals for those who still need assistance. Laura Meyer, Executive Director, states that as of March 3, they served over 75 families and some are coming back multiple times as per their needs. The Center is also providing clothing, shoes, food, toiletries, toys for children, blankets, sheets, a new pillow and set of towels per family member. In addition, more than 25 flood buckets were distributed to help with clean up. An Emotional and Spiritual Care counseling session was also offered last week.

The Michigan Conference has partnered with the Village Church, who is hosting as a shelter and using Michigan Conference shower trailers set up in the parking lot. Survivors are not allowed to go back to their homes until an assessment has been done for safety reasons. Once approved, Michigan ACS DR Team and volunteers will work with the Southern Baptist Church for cleanup (removal of mud, muck, silt, etc.). Diana Bruch, Michigan Conference ACS Director, said “We traditionally help those who can’t help themselves after a disaster and we are intending to muckout the basement of any physically challenged and elderly victims who need our assistance.” Those who are in need of help, please contact the N2N Center at (269) 471-7411 or visit their website.

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Community Disaster Response

ACS Responds to Florida Shooting

The SDA Church has been a resource to the community at large in the wake of the recent Florida school shooting tragedy in Parkland that occurred on February 14. We have held vigils at some of the churches in the area and also have been able to offer support from the NAD. W. Derrick Lea, NAD ACS DR Director, has been in contact with the Florida and Southeastern Regional Conference ACS DR directors to discuss a plan as to how we can render assistance to the affected community in this critical time. The plan calls for two stages: First, we would look for ways to be of benefit to the community; and second, we would concentrate on supporting some of our church members who were directly impacted by the tragic event.

There is a growing need for individuals who are credentialed to work in such environments. We discussed with Florida Hospital which has a Chaplaincy program about the need onsite and they agreed to partner with us in the Recovery efforts. We also connected with a few local Pastors who had reached out to some of those that were present at the school on the day of the shooting. The pastors informed us of the ordeal that some of their church members are experiencing. Currently, we are in the process of getting a Team together by identifying local Adventist counselors who would be willing to provide Emotional & Spiritual Care to those affected.

Below are some helpful tips on how you and your children can cope with trauma in the aftermath of a shooting incident:

  1. Managing Your Distress in the Aftermath of a Mass Shooting
  2. Helping Your Children Manage Distress in the Aftermath of a Shooting
Categories
Disaster Response Fires

Thomas Fire Ravages Southern California

The State of California has lately been experiencing massive wildfires in the southern region. Two deaths have been reported out of which one was a firefighter. Over 200,000 people had evacuated their areas last week. The devastating fires also resulted in heavy damage of homes, cattle, and property. President Trump has declared an emergency in California and ordered additional federal aid to coordinate the relief efforts.

We have been in contact with the ACS Disaster Response Coordinator for the Pacific Union Conference, Charlene Sargent, since the Thomas Fire began. The ACS Disaster Response Teams are on standby until the fires are better contained. We are staying abreast of the situation in California and looking for additional ways we can help the community during their time of need.

Here’s what to do when you’re preparing to evacuate.

Categories
Disaster Response Hurricanes

Puerto Rico Hurricane Response

FEMA has set up a Warehouse in southern Florida for donations collected from military bases which will go towards the Hurricane survivors in Puerto Rico. The Warehouse, managed by Adventist Community Services DR Teams, has been in operation for about a month. Our Team led by South Central Conference is working hard to not only manage the products that are received, but continue to guide our Team Florida Conference personnel in the operation and management of the Warehouse. A few of our other Conferences are on standby for deployment. Plans are in place to include them in the Recovery effort towards the beginning of next year.

Additionally, FEMA has again requested that our services be ready for a possible Puerto Rico response, as well. Though this area is outside of our normal geographical response, the needs of those on the ground demand our knowledge, skills, and expertise in providing relief to the affected communities. Currently, we have placed a team on standby and await the request in the coming days.

Click here to view the news clip by the FOX/CBS crew.

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Disaster Response Hurricanes Local Conference

Columbia Union Conference Prepares Buckets for Islands

Volunteers from the Chesapeake, Potomac, and the Allegheny East Conference joined together in Coatesville, Pennsylvania to pack flood buckets for the Hurricane Maria survivors in the Islands. Along with the Rotary, YMCA, and the local African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church, they prepared a total of 1,616 super-packed buckets of supplies for household cleaning, dishes and laundry including heavy duty trash bags, mask, gloves, clotheslines, clothespins, and etc.

The prepared flood buckets were then taken to Baltimore and placed on a rail to Miami. The Inter-American Division retrieved them and placed them on smaller vessels to be shipped to the Islands based on assessments of volunteers on the various Islands. Before the buckets were ready for delivery, they were opened and thoroughly inspected. The volunteers had to go through a strenuous task of sorting packed buckets that had bleach in order to remove them since they made the load hazardous. They were able to retrieve 90 bottles of bleach. Forklifts and drivers were also donated by the Columbia Union Conference.

The NAD ACS DR Director, W. Derrick Lea, expressed his gratitude and appreciation to the Columbia Union ACS DR Teams for connecting with the Inter-American Division and carrying out this project in a commendable fashion.

Categories
Hurricanes Partnership Pathfinders

New Braunfels Pathfinders Respond to Harvey

The Pathfinder Club of the New Braunfels SDA Church in Texas, “Ambassadors for Christ”, participated in community outreach for the Hurricane Harvey Disaster Relief. A group of nine pathfinders helped out at the Multi-Agency Warehouse managed by Adventist Community Services in San Antonio on Sunday, October 1. They were divided into two groups. One group was in charge of sorting the personal Care Package items by putting each individual item into a large box of the same item category. By the time they were done, they had around 25 different boxes of individual items, all labeled and ready to be distributed. Another group opened up boxes of new underwear for boys and girls and packaged them in smaller boxes of six. They taped up the boxes, labeled each of them with a special code number, and loaded them on a pallet.

This enthusiastic bunch of volunteers had been looking forward to an entire day of work; however, they were able to finish the tasks assigned to them in just three hours. “We were prepared to stay all day but the jobs we were doing were completed. We are hoping to go back and help,” said Debbie Edmiston, Director of “Ambassadors for Christ”. And, sure enough, they continue to volunteer their dedicated time and efforts on Sundays at the San Antonio Warehouse. We sincerely appreciate these young people who are setting an example for other children to be involved in community outreach.

This Pathfinder Club was started in 2005 with the intention of reaching out to the young people from the surrounding neighborhoods to give them a positive avenue in life. One of the ways they were able to do that was to have their Pathfinders invite their non-Adventist friends or cousins. Vacation Bible School also played a significant role in getting children to join the Club. Debbie stated, “The Lord has blessed our Club through the years in many ways. And the Lord is still blessing us with boys and girls from our church and from the surrounding neighborhoods to this present day!”.