Gov Christie Gov Cuomo, Mayor Bloomsburg, Red Cross et al ~ Your efforts to encourage the Sandy {vics} is commendable yet not practical yet..
Katrina serves as a model for what is happening now. I was a Red Cross Volunteer Shelter Manager during the early weeks after Katrina. I was selected because I had already lived in domestic violence shelters 25 yrs earlier and was a volunteer that has helped host families of domestic violence and assisted in relocation of families to new homes and cities over the years. I was also qualified because of my own disability and knowledge of how to apply for necessary benefits available within the current system of governments and how to interact with faith based initiative services that are available. When inspected by higher up Red Cross, my shelter was said to be the most efficient and best operated in all of Oklahoma. I cut through the red tape with Real Estates and with the Govt assisted HUD Housing Departments to facilitate re-homing of evacuees based on homelessness superceeding their current waiting lists. I also matched up evacuees with churches that had offered housing and jobs to evacuees.
Immediate relief, temporary shelters, food distribution and medical aid is but the ” triage phase” of the recovery process and is inadequate beyond initial weeks following the devastation and not sustainable, Even with NYC offering 2 days free transportation to the masses that can return to work, it costs the city $18 million a day and will cause more long term loss.
Emotional and physical needs of those impacted will exceed the ability of those who currently are attempting to provide those services.
As each day arises, more people will move out of the shock phase of grief and anger will follow,which will lead to acts of desperation by those impacted. Increased death and crime will result.
Many communities , for example, have major gas line leaks, which pose threat to life and property.
Infrastructure degradation also poses threat to health & the life of the population and in many communities can not be remedied prior to the onset of winter weather.Recovery can exceed a year or more.
Chaos and inability for govt & agencies to rise to meet the needs of those impacted in a timely fashion to save lives is unrealistic and no matter what authorities now say, they are only guessing, offering false hope and when they fail to provide services will cause further suffering and potential rioting by those impacted.
No such magic bullet or recovery plan exists to meet the needs of the people.
Many little plans are being created and revised to attempt to meet some of the immediate survival needs, but without evacuation and relocation of the majority of those impacted the most, expectations can not nor will be reached. Suffering will mount up. Those who suffered total loss will be left homeless and not able to function.
STAGING AREAS to receive and place [ vics] in shelters & host family housing in cities around the country need to be set up IMMEDIATELY.
OUR COUNTRY HAS 330 MILLION PEOPLE.
MORE THAN 6 MILLION NOW ARE IMPACTED BY HURRICANE SANDY.
THOSE IMPACTED NEED TO BE INTEGRATED TO FUNCTIONING AREAS OF OUR COUNTRY.
WE NEED TO REACH OUT TO THE 330 MILLION TO FIND “HOST” FAMILIES TO PROVIDE LONG TERM SHELTER DURING THE RECONSTRUCTION PERIOD.
HOST cities need to mobilize all available agencies to set up shelters & contact all real estate agencies to waive red tape & deposits.
RELOCATION of the majority has to be implemented.Just as with the DUST BOWL of the 1930s ,many people will have to move, if even temporarily.
This is not an option to ignore.
FACT:The REGION can not support clean up and reconstruction while the people remain in the area as it will be impossible to make the area habitable for the winter months that are upon them.
Even if they leave those least affected within the region, the infrastucture is destroyed and realistically can not support the total volume of residents, businesses and workers that are in the region.
This needs to be considered as a ‘war zone’. It has to be considered and declared uninhabitable under current conditions.
[Vics] left to sift through their rubble are not emotionally or physically capable of surviving there during clean up and reconstruction.
They will all be potential PTSD [vics] and develop multiple health issues related to living without infrastructure repairs.
It will be increasingly difficult to obtain food and fuel or transportation to their jobs.
Businesses will not be able to sustain themselves with added costs related to failed infrastructures. Businesses will need assistance in relocating to cities where they can conduct their businesses until reconstruction is complete.
PHYSICIAN HEAL THYSELF?- IMPOSSIBLE~! Expecting the population impacted by the storm is unrealistic and will be costlier than relocation.
The [VICS] need to be removed and brought to SAFE places where they can survive the aftermath.
Even those reluctant to leave will need to go,[after they exhaust all their strength and resources to attempt to stay] during reconstruction as many communities will not be able to even begin demolition and clean up for weeks or months.
Starting with the most vulnerable, full busloads of communities need to be relocated to cities where their lives can be sustained.
Host families need to be sought immediately. During Katrina many people called into teh Red Cross call center and offered spare homes, rooms, furnishings and to take in [vics] for extended periods of time.
The Red Cross instead focused on monetary donations only, The other call ins notes were discarded.
I gathered them and listed them to offer to incoming evacuees and in some instances, was able to match up incoming with local HOSTS and some families obtained immediate housing and jobs so they could rebuild their lives..
Many businesses now can handle much of their business dealings via the internet and alternate office locations.
Other businesses will not be able to maintain their employee work forces while infrastructure remains inadequate.
People will not be able to afford to continue to drive into work daily while mass transit is out of commission.
The lack of fuel, parking, traffic, time and costs involved just to enable workers to get to their jobs will be too costly and will fail.
MTA will not be able to afford to provide free transportation or adequate services.
The overall region is ‘broken’ and in order to fix it, will need to be leveled in many places and clean up of rubble could take 6 months or more.
Utilites will need to be recreated. Damage to gas lines, water lines, electric lines will necessitate total replacement in many area, thus supporting residency during re-constuction will not be feasible.
The subways, tunnels & electric cant simply be drained and go back to normal. Time is needed to reinforce and replace all that was ruined by the sea water as well as weaknesses that already existed due to age and maintenance issues. Sure they might drain a tunnel, but then to actually let people resume driving through again on a daily basis is still another recipe for disaster as these will fail at some point, collapses are possible and in some cases probable.
Flood damage for example, is why insurance industry will deem a car a total loss one its been in a flood. The car is taken away and the insured is paid for the loss and then has to get a new car.
The same outline has to apply to tunnels and subways if you want to be realistic about it rather than just clearing the tracks and putting trains back in service.
Winter is soon upon us, cold weather is arriving.
Utilities are not up to the challenge and can not guarantee service for all. No government sanctions, fines, assistance, prodding, can make things be alright.
The Govt itself is not in a position to make things right.
This is more than monumental.
There is no easy solution or magic bullet.
If the people are led to continue to believe they can withstand this and live in an area so devastated, they are all in denial and becoming deluded.
If people are not relocated before the cold weather is here, illnesses arising out of the current living condition will cost 1000s of lives over the coming winter.
Businesses will not be able to continue operating with such strained limited resources and the subsequent added expenses pose hardships for employees and employers alike.
Businesses need to be able to set up shop in alternate cities that have infrastructures, at least while the impacted areas rebuild,
Just providing fuel for the region is quickly becoming a failing proposition as even gas tankers are having difficult time supplying gas stations and Gas companies have to rebuild gas lines to be able to supply homes during the winter.
The EXODUS NEEDS TO BEGIN~!!
Look at how people in the region are already beginning to respond to the shock of what happened to them!!
Day #3 – Anger, despair, looting are already beginning and will escalate as the days pass by and supplies continue in shortages.
People currently in unaffected homes, that are doing better than most, will also begin to feel the economic hardship as fuel & food supplies dwindle.
Those already displaced need immediate help including long term places to live during reconstruction.
Shelters & food relief can not be sustained for a long periods of time, especially when infrastructure remains crippled.
The landscape of New Jersey and other places hard hit, that now need to be leveled, cleared, have infrastructure rebuilt BEFORE community reconstruction can begin & life can resume for residents.
While most residents want to sift the rubble for momentos, this places their lives and the lives of others at risk. This activity also is emotionally scarring the [VICS] more than they are already harmed. Shock wears off, grief and anger begin.
People need to be moved away from the devastated areas.
Regionally Unattached, professional clean up is necessary for the people as a whole.
Teams of salvage workers are needed to salvage and remove anything usable or sentimental to [VICS] and items need to be placed into storage containers and moved to storage facilities with addresses of where they were salvaged from and names of [VICS] OWNERS that they assume items belong to.
These can be stored at such facilities til [VICS] obtain reconstruction or relocation of their homes.
Mass cleanup after salvage operations needs to be done before utilities and infrastructures can be repaired or replaced.
The impacted areas still need to be leveled and cleared in order to be rebuilt the communities.
THIS CAN NOT HAPPEN OVERNIGHT, NOR IN WEEKS OR IN A COUPLE OF MONTHS AND CAN NOT PROCEED AT AN ACCELERATED PACE DURING THE COMING WINTER MONTHS.
WHY ISNT THE GOVERNMENT TELLING THESE PEOPLE THE TRUTH?
WHY HAVENT the EXODUS EVACUATION AND RELOCATION PLANS BEGUN? THESE AREAS CAN NOT SUSTAIN LIVES OF MILLIONS AT THIS POINT. AT BEST THEY CAN BE RE-ESTABLISHED TO MAINTAIN 1000S DURING RECONSTRUCTION.
IT HAS TO HAPPEN OR WE ARE GOING TO SEE THE DEATH-RATE OF THE EAST COAST THIS WINTER SKYROCKET~!
THE MULTITUDES OF PEOPLE CAN NOT WITHSTAND ANY COMING STORMS, NOR PREPARE FOR IT NOR CAN THE GOVT OR UTILITIES GUARANTEE PROVIDING ADEQUATE HELP.
STAGES IN EXODUS HAVE TO BE PRIORITIZED!
1 – VOLUNTARY – INITIALLY All families that want to leave region need assistance to get them to new cities.
That requires the assistance of the receiving HOST CITIES to provide initial shelter and resources to the refugees.
Faith based initiative : Host families are needed, to be sought that can agree to take in individuals or small families and shelter them for a period of time til they can get jobs and their own homes.
During Katrina, many willing HOST families called into the Red Cross call center, telling how many people they could house, some were willing to rent rooms, suites, studios, trailers,vacations homes. Some churches that had habitable church camps such as in DUNCANNON, Oklahoma, that were capable of taking in a limited amount of families, offering them available housing and jobs.
Then there were larger quantities of people needing housing which Southern Baptists offered a camp that had occupancy of 5000 for short term settling. Utah’s Mormons also offered housing and reestablishment to many Katrina evacuees.
Real Estate Agencies and city Housing Authorities in many places were willing to waive waiting lists, deposits and allow evacuees to move in and either not pay deposits or arrange time payments in order to expedite new residency.
Churches had willing HOST families and additional housing as well as had jobs ready for smaller families willing to relocate to places such as in Duncannon Ok during Katrina aftermath.
Overall it is cheaper , more efficient and safer to relocate and reestablish EVACUEES to new cities than to try and sustain them in the war zones, during cleanup and reconstruction.
ONLY THOSE WHO CAN ASSIST IN RECONSTRUCTION AND TO HELP MAINTAIN LOCAL GOVERNMENTS, RESTORE INFRASTRUCTURE AND ESSENTIAL SERVICES & BUSINESSES SHOULD BE ENABLED TO REMAIN IN THE REGION, DURING THE RE-CONSTUCTION PERIOD.
ALL OTHERS NEED TO BE RELOCATED.
During Katrina,many had to relocate for months or years before they could return to their homes.
These people have families, children and elderly that need immediate stabilization in order to flourish or remain healthy.
HOST cities have to be willing or compelled to offer Staging Areas.
FEDERAL MANDATES CAN EXPEDITE THIS BY ADDING INCENTIVES AND OR SANCTIONS FOR CITIES THAT DONT WANT TO COMPLY.
We found that cities that failed to approve STAGING AREAS placed critical limits on the number of refugees they enabled to relocate in their towns. In Lawton Ok a city council meeting voted down using the armory for staging.
This prevented busloads of evacuees from the football stadium to even stop in Lawton,[AND OTHER CITIES!] even though shelters and host homes were ready to receive the evacuees, staging is mandatory to process the evacuees into shelters and host homes.
In Lawton , 2 shelters had capacities if less than 60 occupants, which was the average number of people per busload. As a result of lack of staging, these people could not be transported to shelters or host homes as it was impossible to deal with the emotional instability of the [VICS]/evacuees.
BUSLOADS couldn’t stop at any shelter for example and tell the bus that only 10,20,30, or 40 could disembark as it would cause rioting.
Some busloads ended up having to travel all the way to Utah where the people there welcomed them.
Meanwhile the shelters in Lawton could only take in evacuees that made their own way there, such as families that still had cars or those who were able to take public transportation to the city and then contact the local agencies such as the Red Cross to then be admitted into the shelters for further assistance.
Local Housing Authorities that were HUD & Section 8 subsidized had to be told that evacuees presented more urgent needs than those on their current waiting lists, which then bypassed local residents in waiting ,who were presumed to already be in alternate housing, enabling evacuees priority in being re-housed in an expedited manner.
The paid staff of the Red Cross was overwhelmed in Lawton as with many other Red Cross agencies across the region.
THEY COULD NOT TAKE THE WEIGHT OF THE DEVASTATION UPON THEIR SHOULDERS.
THE IMPACT OF SANDY IS BEYOND ANY ONE AGENCY OR GOVT.
IT HAS TO BE A ‘SHARED’ IMPACT AND SOLUTIONS HAVE TO BE CREATED THAT CAN WORK WITHIN EXISTING AGENCIES AND GUIDELINES.
During Katrina, the paid staff went AWOL as many of them became ill from the stress and chaos.
Volunteers were left in charge. I was placed in charge of the shelters as SHELTER MANGER and ran them like domestic violence victims shelters, in order to be able to find and provide services in an expedited manner, otherwise not readily available to homeless individuals.
The current system aid in relocation and reestablishment into new communities for domestic violence victims is the same route that is needed to relocate Hurricane Sandy victims./evacuees/refugees, but on a much larger scale needs a more expedient time scale, realistic time frame.
If this doesnt happen, people will become increasingly desperate and epidemic illnesses will arise that will cause permanent psychological, emotional, physical damage to individuals and families.
There will be a rise in death rate as people will not be living in healthy environments.
Those particularly vulnerable will be children, elderly and disabled.
EXODUS should address these people immediately.
All ‘non-essential’ residents need to be relocated asap to save lives.
Non-essentials to include :
Small children/babies -families
Elderly
Handicapped
Retired
Previously Unemployed
At least 80% of the population must be relocated til recovery is completed.
# 1 Start with the Voluntary~ Within a week many who are currently struggling in hardest hit areas will be emotionally and physically too exhausted to wnt to continue living where they are now in shelters or alternate housing.
These also will be easiest to relocate to host cities as they will pose least economic stress or impact on host cities.Integration will be easier as well.
These families.individuals will actually boost the local economies as they will be paying rent, food and fuel.
TV ADS SEEKING HOST FAMILIES NEED TO BE MADE WITH A HOTLINE AND WEBSITE PAGE FOR POTENTIAL HOST FAMILIES, HOST CHURCHES, HOST COMMUNITIES TO REGISTER,THROUGH FEMA~ FEMA CAN COMPILE LISTS OF POTENTIAL HOST FAMILIES WITH THEIR REQUIREMENTS AND WHAT THEY HAVE AVAILABLE.
FEMA CAN CROSS REFERENCE WHAT IS AVAILABLE TO THOSE WHO APPLY FOR ASSISTANCE AND NOTIFY THOSE NEEDING ASSISTANCE WHERE THEY CAN BE RELOCATED TO,UNTIL RECONSTRUCTION IS COMPLETED.
More HOST families are willing to help elderly , handicapped and small children as they pose lowest economic impact threat to their current lifestyles and cities offer them additional income for hosting, which can be administered through loCal CAO offices in the same manner as for migrant farm workers.
Incentives: HOST cities, families/providers can be offered tax credits , rebates and or grant subsidies for assisting refugees/evacuees. This can be written and directed under current act which was initiated by GW Bush’s “Faith Based Initiatives”,who can receive applications and oversee grant dispursements .
State & Federal Level assistance programs [CAO] in receiving cities can be addressed through current framework already in place for
“Migrant Farm Workers” which is meant to assist transient families with government financial assistance that includes food stamps and medicaid as well as rental assistance.
This already in place facet of the current state CAOs can be assigned to assisting [VICS] financially,medically and food stamps, at the federal and state levels using this current system.
A waiver of residency can be issued to those who have permanent homes in the impacted region.
Disaster Block grants can be initiated and administered by FEMA which should be directed at a community level that does salvage, cleanup and reconstruction of infrastructure of land, which will prepare the way for rebuilding and also storage of salvaged items to be redeemed by those impacted once they are re-homed,
Insurance companies need to approach in a collaborative and collective manner pertaining to overall reconstruction.
The undertaking is so monumental that many insurance companies will have to borrow in order to process the amount of claims for loss. Making cooperative efforts for reconstruction will expedite reconstruction and be more cost effective.
It would be cost effective to rebuild communities such as developments seen out west in Phoenix.
Plans of course would need to be modified by
. New surveys of property ownership lines and then coordinated with community approved architectural reconstruction plans.
Sizes of previous homes also need to be noted in determining how many house plans needs to be created , such as # of bedrooms, # of bathrooms,
Handicap accessibility where needed and so on.
This approach will expedite reconstruction in an organized manner that can be overseen and building codes enforced during reconstruction to address future regional weather related needs.
Costs exceeding the ability of the Insurance Industry necessitate a bond issue for low-term low cost loans to be administered by HDA, HUD and FEMA in joint cooperation.
Grants for income eligible home owners can be applied to offset infrastructure and home building repairs.
Income eligible people who have suffered total loss but hadnt sufficient insurance to cover reconstruction and replacement of their homes and who may not be able to afford their determined share of the process, should be able to choose to sell their home lot/property to the ‘community’ developer at fair pre-storm value and be free to relocate where they choose to.
Approaching the sheer volume of basic needs to be met for those impacted by Hurricane Sandy would be more cost effective and rise to meet the immediate and long term needs of the people during the reconstruction period, which in all likelihood can last 1 or more years to complete.
I can further expound on how to implement and mandate inter agency and inter govt programs to facilitate relocation that would enable reconstruction.
Yours truly,
Ave Hurley
ave1954@msn.com
814-596-5196
