A New Ecumenical, Cooperative Model for Disaster Response
Last June, 2011, the Souris River overflowed its banks, destroying or extensively damaging more than 4,100 homes in Minot, North Dakota. A recent survey of displaced residents found fewer than 18 percent of the flooded homes occupied. The remainder of the people surveyed indicated they stay in trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), with family or friends, or in new residences—or they move out of town.
Following the flood, Minot experienced a critical and uncharacteristically low number of volunteer teams from state, regional, and national organizations. The consistently cited reason for choosing to bypass Minot was the lack of adequate accommodations for volunteer housing. The end result is that area families with critical need are not served.
Hope Village, an ecumenical volunteer site, officially opened April 9, 2012. Located on the Our Savior Lutheran Church campus, Hope Village will provide mobile bunkhouses and recreational vehicle hookups for volunteer work teams to help repair or rebuild homes. The site will include shower houses, restrooms, a laundry unit, a meals-preparation unit, a dining tent, and campfire grounds. Hope Village can house and feed 250 people each day. The cost is only $20 a day per person.
Some observers view Hope Village, the first ecumenical, cooperative venture of this scope, as a possible model for future disaster response across the United States.
Their work is first with those in the community who are the most vulnerable: the poor, the disabled, and those who will have the hardest time recovering (which often includes relocation assistance). Uninsured and under-insured homeowners will receive assistance in clean up, repair, and rebuilding of their homes.
Volunteer today! Call (855) 720-9804 for information or to schedule your volunteer work team’s mission trip through Hope Village. Learn more about volunteering here. You can also speak with your denomination’s disaster response organization, such as Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
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