The Eastern Shore Long-Term Recovery Committee (ESLTRC), with the support and collaboration of Maryland VOAD, has begun a cutting-edge long-term recovery (LTR) program that combines recovery with an intentional mitigation component. This LTR has a goal to elevate and repair 100 homes!
As a part of Elevating and Repairing 100 Homes, we have initiated an “Adopt a Home” project, where you can get personally involved.
Our world is being impacted daily by the effects of global warming and climate change through the increase frequency and intensity of storms. Those of us in the VOAD community have talked about how this new reality is changing our conversations and increasingly causing adaptations to our disaster response methods and behavior.
The lower Eastern Shore of Maryland (especially Somerset and Dorchester Counties) now sees continuous coastal flooding. Homes we repaired following Superstorm Sandy are now circling back to us again for repair. With the increased frequency and intensity of storms, repetitive loss has become a major variable and consideration in our response efforts.
The Eastern Shore Long-Term Recovery Committee made a strategic decision following the October 2021 Tidal Flooding (an unnamed and undeclared storm that was the worst tidal flooding in the State of Maryland in 50 years) not to immediately use resources to repair damaged homes. We knew from our work after Superstorm Sandy that, if we built new homes and elevated existing homes at the hundred-year flood plain level plus two additional board feet, we could prevent water intrusion into people’s homes. None of the new homes built or homes we elevated after Sandy have “gotten their feet wet.”
The ESLTRC and Maryland VOAD undertook a goal in Phase 1, of building 10 new homes to replace those that were destroyed. (We did repair 23 homes out of necessity for families to have a safe and secure place to dwell.) The remaining 100 homes, that have qualified for assistance, have been moved to Phase 2, which has a goal to elevate and repair the homes – using member volunteers to assist in the work thereby reducing costs. We know building in this way we will:
• Eliminate repetitive loss;
• Make better stewardship of the funding dollars entrusted to us; and most importantly,
• Significantly increased the quality of living for the families we serve.
(*Picture shown on left is the first home elevated, repaired, and now finished!)
Through a $50,000 grant from both Mennonite Disaster Service and Lutheran Disaster Response, we have been able to elevate the first two homes, thereby gaining experience and understanding the logistics of using volunteers to accomplish this work.
This is a $6.5 million project. We welcome all donations – even the smallest help and are appreciated! You can Donate Here.
Are you aware of grant money that may be available for this project? Please email information to chairperson@marylandvoad.org.
(*Picture shown on right is the second home in progress.)
