Home  News Latest News Director's Report April 2007
|
Director's Report April 2007 |
|
|
|
|
Written by Charles Busby
|
|
Apr 07, 2007 at 12:00 AM |
NDRI Director's Report April 2007
Dale Kimball, Director
It is our pleasure to furnish you with the quarterly report regarding the progress of Northshore Disaster Recovery, Inc. (NDRI) / Slidell Storm Center whose purpose is to respond to those who were uninsured or underinsured and whose unmet needs will not be covered by other relief systems private or public. We provide spiritual, emotional and physical resources to those affected by Hurricane Katrina, including the rebuilding of hurricane damaged homes in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes of Louisiana.
NDRI was established in Oct 2005 as the Long Term Recovery Organization for St. Tammany. We are located on the campus of Aldersgate UMC at 360 Robert Blvd. During the months of Oct 05 thru Dec 05 the center was involved in relief efforts ranging from food, water and clothing distribution to tree cutting and house gutting. In January 2006 the center and its staff switched gears to begin the long term recovery process by entering into the reconstruction phase. In May of 2006 we opened a satellite center in Bogalusa, Louisiana to support the recovery efforts in Washington Parish. To date NDRI has rebuilt 278 severely damaged homes, repaired 206 moderately damaged homes, and completed 5879 other Unmet Needs cases ranging from medical assistance to transportation. These numbers do not include the hundreds of homes that were gutted and cleaned out in the months immediately after Hurricane Katrina. To date we have served 6,363 clients and have 238 open cases. We currently have 61 homes in work in various stages of reconstruction and repair. We have 67 cases pending reconstruction.
Volunteer construction teams continue to support the rebuilding effort in St. Tammany Parish. To date the office at NDRI has put over 16,630 volunteers to work since September 2005, we have logged 665,200 man hours of volunteer labor, the equivalent of $ 12.4 million in free labor. NDRI has hosted volunteers from 44 states and 11foreign countries. The number of volunteers quoted above only includes UMCOR volunteers and does not include the massive number of volunteers from one of the other 81 NDRI member organizations. We have 40 Faith Based, 27 Civic Organizations and 14 Government Representatives. For instance Lutheran Disaster Response, one of our partnering organizations has hosted 2030 volunteers and accumulated more than 140,000 man hours of volunteer labor. We have large volunteer teams already booked through January 2008 into St. Tammany Parish and Washington Parishes.
Our staff at NDRI, which is paid for by a grant from The United Methodist Conference of Louisiana, via the United Methodist Committee on Relief, now consists of a director, who doubles as the grant writer, an administrative assistant, who manages volunteers and housing, an administrative assistant, who manages finances, four case managers who continue their outstanding work with victims of this disaster, three construction supervisors, who manage the home repairs and materials and a crew of local volunteers to answer phones during peak times. The grant from The United Methodist Conference for salaries ensures that all grant money and private donations made to NDRI go directly to supporting the unmet needs of the community.
NDRI is now assisting in the funding and providing case management for the rebuilding projects of UMCOR, Faith Bible Church, Sovereign Grace Fellowship, Compassion Ministries, Disciples Disaster Response, Presbyterian Disaster Recovery, Church of the Brethren, Christian Disaster Relief and Christian Reformed World Relief Committee. In addition we are providing case management, construction site identification and resource management for Mennonite Disaster Service and Lutheran Disaster Response who provide their own construction crews and construction supervisors.
We continue to seek options for permanent warehousing and long term volunteer housing support. We are aggressively pursing the option of building a 10,0000 square foot facility on donated land directly across he street from our existing facilities. Aldersgate UMC has agreed to give land for this project. The project is expected to cost about $500,000 and we have $300,000 in donations and commitment at this time, so we are proceeding on the faith that the remaining funds will be raised prior to completion. This project will provide the long term housing and warehouse support necessary for the continued success of the recovery effort, not only for St. Tammany Parish but, for the greater New Orleans area as well. We fully intend to use this facility to house volunteers and materials that will be transported to the New Orleans area for long term recovery efforts over the next 10 years.
Due to the lack of public transportation in St. Tammany Parish one of the greatest UnMet Needs that was identified is the transportation of clients, who lost their automobiles to flood water and require transportation to doctor’s appointments, grocery stores and other service related destinations. Thanks to a grant from UMCOR we have been able to purchase a small bus and will be able to provide the transportation needs to clients on a registration basis. We are currently in the process of refining this service.
The Long Term Recovery Committee continues to meet monthly and continues to grow in support from both local and national group participation. We currently have representation from 80 organizations partnering in our Long Term Recovery efforts. We are proud that our organization has active participation from over 40 Faith Based organizations from all denominations; all unified and centrally focused on the recovery efforts in St. Tammany and Washington Parishes. Our latest, partnership is with “The Rotary Club of Little Rock Arkansas. They received a grant and would like partnership we NDRI to fund the rebuilding of 20 homes in the hard hit Lacombe area. NDRI would provide the labor and management of the projects.
Among the many needs of our organization the top priorities would be:
1. A Dump Trailer, We can purchase one for about $5500.00 We currently pay
around $500.00 per dumpster load to haul off construction
debris. We could haul to the local dump for $50.00 a load.
2. 18’ Flat Bed Truck, $ 25,000.00 , Needed to move materials from suppliers to
job sites and pick up and deliver donations.
3. Misc Special Tools, $ 5000.00, Drills, Saws, Common Hand Tools
As you can see, many great works are taking place. Thanks to the dedicated staff, the countless volunteers and the many organizations that have the faith to fund our efforts, we will help many families who otherwise would not have the means to rebuild their lives and get back in their homes.
Should you have any additional questions or comments regarding our activities, or need additional financial information, please feel free to contact me at 985-781-7990.
Thank you for your support and God Bless.
Dale Kimball
Executive Director,
Northshore Disaster Recovery, Inc
|
|
Last Updated ( Apr 19, 2007 at 02:07 PM )
|
|
|
|
