Local missionaries and leaders from The Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints spent Wednesday giving aid to communities affected by
Hurricane Sandy. Local Church leaders dispatched hundreds of
missionaries, including more than 500 in the tri-state area of New York,
New Jersey and Connecticut to storm-damaged neighborhoods to help
residents.
Mormon missionaries from the New York New York
South Mission clean up in a Valley Stream, New York neighborhood in the
aftermath of Hurricane Sandy Wednesday, 31 October 2012
Mormon missionaries in the New Jersey Morristown Mission helped clear their neighbors’ yards of trees and debris.
“We’re
just trying to find out where need is, and trying to assist in any
way,” said Sister Liz Dicou, a New Jersey missionary from Sandy, Utah.
Missionaries
in the New York area helped to bail out flooded homes, remove trees
from roofs and clear yards in the mission area, which includes Staten
Island, Brooklyn, Queens and Long Island. They first aided those with
special needs, including elderly residents and those who needed access
to power for medical devices.
Kevin E. Calderwood, president of
the New York New York South Mission, said as missionaries and Church
members went into communities to help, it quickly became a collaborative
effort with neighbors wanting to work side by side to clear trees and
debris.
President Calderwood said that the damage in the area is
difficult to see. “Some homes are completely leveled, and people have
lost everything,” he said. “You go from house to house, and people are
really desperate at the moment.”
Elder Swede Storey, a missionary
from Ogden, Utah, said it is hard to see people he’s come to love in
such a difficult situation, but he’s grateful to be able to help. “I’ve
grown to love this city so much, so it’s been tough to see the areas
where I’ve served damaged and the families I know with so much damage.”
Elder
Josh Munday, from Kent, England, another missionary in New York, was
also thankful to be able to serve others during the disaster. “This is
the calling of our Church, to help those who are in need,” he said.
“It’s been so sad to see everyone with such hardships in their lives
right now. We’ll be praying for the others who are in need.”
President
Calderwood said missionaries will continue to provide whatever help
they can in the coming days and weeks. “There’s more work here to do
than anyone has capacity to do, but we’ll just take it one house at a
time,” he said.
Missionaries, Church members and other volunteers
will spend the next few days out in neighborhoods, helping meet
immediate needs and assessing damage, then will make plans to return to
help with larger, long-term projects. Some damage assessment and work
must wait until roads are safe, downed power lines are cleared and
flooded areas open up. As soon as first responders determine it is safe,
local Church leaders will work with government and relief agencies to
help organize assistance in those areas.
Relief efforts are being
coordinated on both a local and regional level. Church leader Elder
Jeffery E. Olson is helping coordinate efforts by Church members in New
York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and said local leaders are eager to
organize all the assistance they can. “Everyone expressed a willingness
to go where they needed to go and help anyone who needed help,” he said.
“In fact, they were willing to come from as far away as Buffalo if we
needed them.”
The Church has equipment and supplies that are being
distributed as needs are determined. The Church has pre-positioned
supplies in warehouses in Indianapolis, Washington, D.C., New York and
New Jersey. Those supplies include generators, food, water, blankets,
hygiene kits, tarps, chain saws, shovels and wheelbarrows.
Elder
Olson said Church members in the area were fairly well prepared for the
storm and have been able to reach out to those who need help. “We’ve
been teaching our members to be at a level of preparedness so that they
are also able to help their neighbors and community recover after a
disaster,” he said.
The missionaries used Church members’ homes as
a starting point in their effort to help, then spread out in each
neighborhood. As soon as members have ensured their own homes and
families are safe, many of them will join the missionaries’ relief
efforts.
- mormon newsroom