Fleeting glances of neat single-family homes and Christmas decorations don’t tell half the story of what has happened to people’s lives on Long Island, since Hurricane Sandy struck New York.
“You wouldn’t realize how hard people who own many of these properties have been hit by the rains and the flooding of the superstorm,” said Reverend David Henry, a Barbadian and pastor of the Freeport United Methodist Church.
“And with the Christmas season upon us, there is an even deeper sense of loss. On the outside, you see homes that look in fine shape but when you set foot inside and talk to families, you realize the extent of the tragedy that has beset them. They really need help but you would never know it by simply looking on.”
That’s particularly the case in Freeport, a mixed community of Bajans, Jamaicans and other West Indians, African Americans, Hispanics, Asians and Whites, many of whom have lived there for decades but never dreamt that such a calamity would befall them, especially at this time.
The religious minister, who was born and raised in Haggatt Hall, St Michael, attended Modern High School and was trained at seminaries in England and the United States, has linked arms and resources with volunteers – some from as far away as Ohio, South Carolina and Arkansas and others from New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania – who are now working feverishly to help return families to some semblance of normalcy with Christmas two days away.
“Houses were flooded, some with five feet of water that destroyed furniture and wrecked appliances. People were left with clothes that can no longer be worn,” he said.
“But that’s not all. As the waters receded, homeowners have had to deal with the mould on the walls that can cause health problems, insulation that had to be ripped out and replaced, boards that must be treated, and furniture that in many cases had to be discarded. It can be a sorry sight.
“But we have to work as volunteers, not charging homeowners for any of our services so they can be returned to some measure of wholeness.
“One of the most important tasks is mould mitigation. Then we remove the insulation and the boards and replace them and so on. We go in after the first responders and get to work and we don’t charge for the work we do.”
By “we”, Pastor Henry was referring to the United Methodist Committee On Relief, a volunteer organization that draws on the human and other resources of the far-flung church.
“This is an ongoing mission and we have had experience in doing this kind of work,” the Bajan pointed out.
But repairing victims’ homes isn’t all the volunteers are doing.
“There is the need for spiritual care,” Henry explained.
“We train our volunteers to work alongside families grappling with a deep sense of loss. They are concerned about getting back to where they were before the storm and about being able to grapple with a situation to which they had grown unaccustomed.
“It is often quite difficult, but we have to show in a meaningful way that we care for one another and that we are concerned about people’s plight.”
So far, the volunteers in Freeport have helped to repair more than 20 of the 130-plus structures that were damaged. Others have gone into Staten Island and the Rockaways where the devastation reached mind-boggling levels and will set back families financially, socially and otherwise for years.
“There you have families, many of them African Americans and West Indians from almost every Caribbean island nation and coastal state, living out the American dream of home ownership, children in college and university.
“[They have] retirement to consider and monthly car payments to meet but have now been struck a devastating blow. And as if to add insult to injury, the nightmare has occurred just before Christmas, a time when bright lights, gifts for friends and relatives and the trappings of prosperity are displayed everywhere.
“It’s not easy,” said Pastor Henry, who served for years at a church in Brooklyn before moving to Long Island.
That explains why he frequently appeals to volunteers. He did that on a recent Sunday in Brooklyn while addressing hundreds of Barbadians at the service marking the 46th anniversary of Barbados’ Independence.
“We can always do with a pair of extra hands,” he said.
