Cultivating Resilience in times of Disaster

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.

Psalm 91:11

Cultivating Resilience in Times of Disaster

“Relationships formed through missional communities are a natural bridge between the storm recovery needs of highly vulnerable neighbors and diocesan disaster ministry resources. The Abundant Harvest of St. Isidore, for example, earned the trust of a heavily impacted, under-resourced community by showing up immediately after Harvey with constancy, and by offering what residents said they needed: healthy food for their families. Bearing gifts of food to this neighborhood every week since the storm, this ministry of the table has transformed residents who live on the same street into neighbors caring for neighbors.” –Stacy Stringer

2019 IN NUMBERS

151 HOMES REPAIRED

97 729 CHURCH AND COMMUNITY PARTNERS FAMILIES RECEIVING STORM RECOVERY NEEDS ASSESSMENTS

363 FAMILIES RECEIVING FURNITURE AND LARGE APPLIANCES 24,088 VOLUNTEER HOURS

10 COUNTIES SERVED

7,160 HOT MEALS COOKED, DELIVERED AND SERVED 46,050 POUNDS OF FRESH FOOD DISTRIBUTED

917 790

Professional Counseling Sessions Individuals Served by Professional Counseling

The Diocese of Texas, through its partnership with Episcopal Relief & Development and the diocesan Quin Foundation, is reaching out to assist families for whom conventional disaster recovery mechanisms fall short. Contact the Hurricane Recovery team members Stacy Stringer, Kecia Mallette, or Suzanne Hollifield at HarveyRecovery@epicenter.org.

TWO YEARS AFTER HARVEY, WHARTON COUNTY WORKS AND WAITS

The story of Harvey flooding in a rural area like Wharton County doesn’t come near to the numbers of households impacted and the billions of dollars of damage in Harris County. But just 60 miles away from Houston, the people of Wharton County still share the same suffering of waiting for help and the fear of being forgotten. St. Thomas’, Wharton, has been the hands and heart of Christ to some of the waiting ones.

Pattie Odom, a member of St. Thomas’, is the Administrative Director of the Wharton County Recovery Team. Odom lived in Louisiana and had previous experience with hurricane relief work. Odom and her family moved to Wharton the week of Harvey, unloaded a moving van, only to discover that they would have to evacuate.

At first, the people of Wharton County thought they were spared the worst of Harvey. The rain was heavy, but it did not seem to approach the 50 inches of rain that pummeled Houston. Some Wharton families took in relatives who needed to evacuate the Bayou City, but within hours the Colorado River drowned the surrounding land with fastrising water from upstream rainfall and runoff, racing through cropland, town streets, farmhouses and local businesses. Farmers lost crops of cotton and soybeans to mildew. Century-old homes buckled from water-weakened boards and damaged foundations. Water wells collapsed and cesspool systems were compromised, with many still nonfunctioning a whole two years later.

The next wave of disaster for those who did have insurance was rejections of claims due to loopholes in policies.

Rural counties experience a high rate of impact per capita of households but often are overshadowed by the numbers in urban areas. In a population of many elderly people living alone in houses that they cannot repair themselves, the sense of abandonment is palpable.

What Odom learned quickly about her new hometown is that the people of Wharton have resiliency in their favor. The rural strength of knowing their neighbors and shouldering difficulties together would be strained—but it would remain intact during this disaster. The Wharton County Recovery Team, which had remained functioning since the county’s prior flooding events, was well positioned to immediately jump into action to assist the flooded and the displaced.

In addition to Odom, other members of St. Thomas’ are still engaging in long-term Harvey recovery through a variety of ministries. The church and the Diocese of Texas partner together to provide resources to highly vulnerable families who have exhausted all other avenues of assistance.

Still, there are homes that need to be either elevated or abandoned by homeowners, depending upon financial means. For many others, families who resolve to do their own repair work live in their wrecked homes that are health risks for those in good health as well as poor. The elderly who are living alone in the homes in which they grew up have no place to go as they dwell in deep despair, waiting for help. Many wait for rebuilding grants, but the process is long and frustrating. Furthermore, receiving approval for funding doesn’t mean construction. It means another round of waiting: for funding to arrive, for workers to be hired, for volunteers to arrive, so that the work may begin. Wharton both works and waits.

One example of the ways in which the EDOT Harvey Recovery program can offer assistance where other organizations cannot is with water wells. Floodwater contamination means that even today residents are still boiling water for drinking and eating. The diocesan program is known as “the most flexible funder at the table,” but our resources do not stop at funding. At this stage of Harvey recovery, we need volunteers more than ever—including unskilled volunteers and youth volunteers. What dollars can do more than doubles when volunteers are on the scene, and this means that more than double the number of families receive help. Wharton works, Wharton waits and Wharton invites.

Our Wharton County neighbors are proud and independent folks who don’t want to be a bother to anyone. They speak like warriors in a battle, like comrades in arms. The hurricane is not over if they leave behind anyone who needs help. Until all receive assistance with dignity, they wait and work.

SECOND RESPONDERS BRING YOU HOME

To all who have ears to hear, the Rev. Jim Liberatore proclaims, “Harvey recovery is not over!” Two years after Hurricane Harvey stormed into Texas, tens of thousands of families in our region have not yet found their way back home. “There are families still living in flooded homes that have not been mucked out,” reports Debbie Allensworth, associate at St. Andrew’s in Pearland. It is no exaggeration to say that without church involvement in Hurricane Harvey recovery, thousands of families would receive no assistance.

Immediately after Harvey struck, St. Andrew’s mobilized to render assistance to hurricaneaffected families who were likely to fall through the cracks of typical disaster recovery systems. By listening, showing up, developing a plan of action, and then acting upon it, this church has built deep relationships with flood survivors. “We are here for the long-term,” Liberatore promises.

St. Andrew’s arrived at the Harvey recovery mission field with a well-deserved reputation for service and trustworthiness after more than twenty years of cultivating community relationships beyond the church walls. Liberatore and Allensworth are “pastors to the community,” even to those with other church affiliations or no religious affiliation. It is no surprise that the Pearland Chamber of Commerce named St. Andrew’s “Business of the Month” in June 2019.

We are accustomed to praising and thanking first responders for their courageous acts when danger strikes. What is easy to overlook, however, is the group that follows close behind. Second responders like St. Andrew’s feel called to be in it “for the long haul.” Won’t you consider joining the Second Responder effort by contributing a few hours or a few days?

“WE ARE HERE FOR THE LONGTERM”

Third Time May Not Always be the Charm When a Fourth One Arrives

Who said that Texas was too far for volunteers from Fridley, MN, to travel? Making three trips to Harvey-hit areas is still not sufficient for a group of disaster recovery volunteers from St. Philip’s Lutheran Church in Fridley. They returned in October, for their fourth week-long visit, to continue assisting with rebuilding homes post-Harvey.

In April the team, whose average age is nearly 70, welcomed members from St. Christopher in League City, along with our own diocesan Hurricane Recovery team, to work alongside them. Up close, we saw firsthand how ordinary volunteers could generate extraordinary results. What we witnessed was nothing short of amazing.

Greg Oliver, a St. Christopher parishioner, volunteered with St. Philip’s Disaster Relief (SPDR) team the entire week to learn for himself how one church can be so committed and impactful.

A rocket scientist by trade, Oliver reflected, “I felt as much a contributor to the solution as the rest of them, even though I’ve never done these tasks. We don’t have to be experts.”

The SPDR started in their congregation over 15 years ago. This trip was their 75th week-long trip to serve in a disaster area. Most of their excursions have been out-of state,

hundreds of miles away from Fridley, MN. Though the majority of them have gone on these trips over a dozen times, many are newcomers or second-timers—yet all are welcome to pay it forward. Some bring skills, while most learn on the job.

With a roster of volunteers that fills up fast, the SPDR team loves to serve, but most importantly they love people and they love God! They work hard and are honest about their mistakes and limitations. They leave hope and wholeness everywhere they go. What’s fun about the group is that they laugh a lot, making their team even more cohesive as they go about God’s work in serving others.

If you enjoy laughing and learning while serving the Lord, join us in the diocesan Harvey Recovery field—no matter your age. Expertise is not a requirement!

Greg Oliver offered the following benediction: “May God bless the incredible St. Philip’s team for traveling so far and so graciously offering their time, skill, and heart to help our community!”

The third time may not always be the charm when a fourth one is on its way!

“We serve because everyone belongs” has always been the mission of St. Paul’s/San Pablo, Houston. In the aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, those who were already walking alongside the poor, homeless, abused, elderly and disabled are the champions of their disaster recovery.

Post Harvey, it is clear that those with the least voice before the storm were the least heard after it.

To come inside the gravitational pull of the Rev. Ed Gomez, Vicar of St. Paul's/San Pablo, is to learn to listen at the speed of a hurricane-force wind. Bespectacled, warm, paddling like a duck quickly underwater, cool, good-humored and confident, Gomez pulls you into the fast-moving current that is the nature of his mission.

When asked how his congregation was impacted by Hurricane Harvey, Gomez almost laughed. “Everyone was affected! Everyone!” he said.

He did not draw a line of distinction between the people in his pews and the people outside the church doors. Everyone belongs. Gomez speaks with compassion for the elderly poor, the homeless, the sex worker, the refugee, the immigrant, the sick, the abused, the angry and the frightened. Everyone was impacted. Everyone needs help. Everyone is needed.

Basic human needs such as food, physical and mental health care, safety, and employment are daily challenges for everyone who lives in the church’s community. Twice a week, up to 80 homeless people are fed, offered a shower and provided assistance to complete forms for resources at St. Paul/San Pablo.

For the homeless, Hurricane Harvey has meant services are spread thin and, in some cases, have completely evaporated. Gomez also soon discovered that the impact on mental health for those who came to his congregation took a toll of their daily lives. Getting them help became imperative.

Gomez worked tirelessly to bring a licensed, bilingual, bicultural behavioral health counselor to his church. He noticed that individuals and families in the region were trying to make ends meet under pre-existing systemic pressures that were made heavier by the storm, and they needed help. For behavioral health services to succeed in this context, trust is vital, and cultural competence was nonnegotiable.

Thanks to generous grants from Episcopal Relief & Development and the Bishop Quin Foundation, the Diocese of Texas Hurricane Recovery program stepped up to fund this unique disaster recovery program at St. Paul’s/San Pablo.

Licensed professional counselor Marisol Salgado has earned the trust of the members of St. Paul’s/San Pablo. Word of mouth referrals are increasing, a sign that she and her professional services have gained acceptance.

Salgado knew that the stigma of seeking help for mental issues would prevent people from reaching out unless she found ways to bring awareness of her programs.

She offers easy-to-attend classes on everyday stresses from speaking with children to dealing with anger. Salgado is willing to share aspects of her own mental health journey so others may see mental health care as normal and healthy. She is smartphone-savvy and is planning to start a podcast called “Let’s Talk!” to expand her message of good mental health for a hurting community.

Additionally, individual counseling sessions are now being offered at San Mateo, Bellaire and San Pedro/St. Peter's, Pasadena.

But Gomez and Salgado know that all stories do not end well. The death toll of disasters doesn’t include those whose lives are lost from actions prompted by post-disaster trauma. This church has the reputation as a safe place, so they have borne witness to heartbreaking episodes of physical abuse and violent death which shatter families forever.

Trust is a golden resource during and after disasters of all kinds, and trust is hard to build in a moment of crisis, but the team of Gomez and Salgado knows how to “love kindness and walk humbly.” Loving your neighbors and being a trusted neighbor before a disaster is the life-saving raft to recovery after a disaster.

BROKEN HOME, BROKEN HEART, UNBROKEN HOPE

Despite all he has gone through in life, Mal, 66, has never lost hope. His willingness to ask for help and gathering the confidence to speak out have always been gifts for him.

Like tens of thousands in the Houston area, Mal’s house was damaged after the waters of Hurricane Harvey seeped through his foundation—sinking it and severely damaging the walls, flooring and insulation. Electrical systems and plumbing were broken. Mold grew quickly in the heat.

It took almost two years for Mal to finally receive the help he had been looking for. As volunteers from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas and West Street Recovery were cutting and installing dry wall in the Texas heat, Mal glanced back at the house and looked down at the ground with his favorite phrase, “It could have been worse.”

Mal shared the house where he grew up with his now 95-year-old mother. After Harvey, Mal’s mother moved in with Mal’s sister. Mal stayed in the broken house and moved what he could save into a tiny room in the back.

Mal is a black man who grew up in the 60’s. He has lived some of the turbulent history of race relations in America. He has known what it is like to be unwelcome, to have his life threatened. He has lost one sibling to a police shooting and another to diabetes. By his own admission, he has crossed the line with his own rage, his failed relationships and his broken heart. He has worked with his hands all his life in construction and as a car mechanic. He has seen more than one hurricane. Now his body is broken with severe health problems. He didn’t have the money or the materials or the tools to fix his own house.

What Mal has left intact is his ability to speak and his own willingness to ask for help. Mal started talking. He spoke with FEMA. He filled out forms. He asked for help. He was turned down. “Pre-existing problems” he was told. He was told the house didn’t break during the storm even though Mal heard the bones of his house splinter and crack around him.

“I thought I and the house would die that night.” And then he shakes off the memory and says again, “I’m a blessed man. It could have been worse.” The rejection by FEMA broke his heart, but not his spirit.

On behalf of his mother, his neighbors and himself, Mal kept talking. He talked from the mayor’s office in Houston to the Texas Legislature in Austin to government officials in Washington, D.C. Applications for assistance are often rejected because the forms are difficult to manage. Documents to prove identity and ownership may have been lost in the flooding and not easily replaced. There are also complex issues about land ownership, debt, and access to credit. Waiting for acceptance or rejection usually takes months.

A group called West Street Recovery came into existence during the first days of Hurricane Harvey, beginning with rescue operations out of a kayak. West Street Recovery co-founders, Andrew Cobb, Cavanaugh Nwezi, Leah Ayer, Alycia Miles and Ben Hirsch recruited volunteers and supplies to help the most vulnerable survivors of Harvey. Ben heard about Mal and took on the challenge of Mal’s broken house. Forming partnerships for funding and volunteers from throughout the state, Ben also was joined by the Hurricane Recovery staff of Episcopal Diocese of Texas to rebuild Mal’s house into a home that would be safe, sanitary and functional again.

Mal wants to bring his mother back home as one last gift to let her die in the home that she owns. Mal’s health reminds him that he, too, will die and that he would like to die in the home he grew up in, eating his mother’s yeast rolls and laughing with the neighbors.

A ROAD TO RECOVERY LOOKING UP

Serving others is the way Anna coped with the despair of losing her home after Hurricane Harvey flooded her house and her entire neighborhood in Montgomery County. Anna looked down the road to the needs of her parents whose home was also damaged, and then she saw the needs of her other neighbors. With her bilingual skills and a joyous personality, Anna reached out to, and for, her neighbors.

Working with Molly Carr of Abundant Harvest, Anna helped identify the needs and the priorities of those around her. Molly partnered with Episcopal Diocese of Texas (EDOT) Hurricane Recovery staff, the Rev. Stacy Stringer and Project Manager Kécia Mallette.

After gathering a strong team, she quickly identified a family who needed drywall, another who needed lumber, a third who needed appliances, and another family who needed help completing forms for assistance. Anna looked to her neighbors’ needs first and then began to dream about her own home.

More than two years after the storm, Anna is finally looking up. She and her husband elevated their home and began building with the donated supplies from EDOT Hurricane Recovery. A new stairway lifts visitors to a porch, then to the living room still being built slowly as her husband finds time between paid employment opportunities.

The space smells of new construction and not of mold anymore. Molly entered the space with whoops of joy, embracing Anna, listening to her excitement and lifting her up with words of praise and encouragement. Anna’s fatigue and despair lingered just below the surface, but with Molly’s help, her eyes sparkled with tears of relief and joy.

The champion who served her community was finally excited about coming home herself. Daring to dream—to look up at her family’s future —was a gift revealed inside a house that was still a work in progress.

Dancing Into Their New Home

Maria was dancing as she stepped out of the car. She had a curly-haired boy in hand and a blinky-eyed baby on her hip. Other children burst forth from open car doors. At first, Maria looked like a thousand other mothers who walk with dignity bearing the daily weight of family responsibilities. A single mother with seven children under her wings, Maria was caring for her five children and providing a home for two teenage girls who had recently lost both parents to death and to deportation, respectively. But there in the middle of the street, Maria started to dance.

Her face was radiant, and her body moved to music coming from the inside out. Her children joined in the dance. Today was “move-in” day for Maria and her family.

Maria was in her trailer home in a Houston neighborhood when the floodwaters of Hurricane Harvey filled the streets and then poured into other homes and businesses. Each hour during the storm brought fear and decisions.

Waist-deep water inside the house propelled them to escape to higher, drier ground. Herding her frightened children, she moved them in one direction, but saw snakes and alligators. Heading another direction, the family found rescue in the bucket of a front-end loader.

After the floodwaters receded, Maria returned with her family to their home, only to find that the floodwaters had lifted their trailer off its pilings. The home was twisted and dropped down on the ground, cracked like an egg from the floor to the joints in the roof. Most of their contents were beyond saving. Dangerous mold was growing inside, but they had nowhere else to go. Maria started looking for help to patch the roof leaks and make flooring repairs.

In another neighborhood in Houston, St. John the Divine Episcopal Church had formed what they called “Go Groups” —a component of their mission theme of “Worship. Connect. Grow. Go.” The Go small groups were given $1000 in the form of gift cards designated for hurricane relief. They were to GO find a person or family impacted by the storm and offer assistance.

One of the St. John the Divine Go Groups included Bob Schorr and Don Nichols. It was through working with other organizations in the city that Bob and Don learned about the mother of seven who had applied for roof and floor repair assistance. During their site visit, both men quickly noted the severity of the damage to the house, the dangerous health conditions inside it, and the deep need of this family. It was going to take more resources than their “Go Group” currently had.

Don describes the moment when his friend Bob said: “We can’t repair this house. This family needs a new house. We are going to get them a new house.”

Don said: “Neither of us knew how we could make a new house happen, but I could tell that the Spirit of God was speaking.”

They believed that God said “Go!” not “No!”

Although the intention and the desire to help Maria’s family return to a safe home after a natural disaster became a goal for the organization, they were conscious of the set-backs they would ultimately face along the process.

As each new obstacle surfaced, Bob said that he knew he might have to stop and say “No”—that they couldn’t go any further. Their group had already done more than they thought they could.

While seeking resources to replace the home, Maria’s family received food, clothing, and medication through the Go Group. Temporary housing was secured for the family in a single hotel room. Lacking cooking facilities, the family traveled back to their now-empty lot to cook meals over a fire outside. Meanwhile, Bob and Don sought resources to remove the damaged trailer, prepare the house site, purchase and transport a new manufactured home, and furnish and prepare the home for occupancy. Bob and Don soon started to realize that their wish to help Maria’s family was becoming true because they found the support from other partners and organizations.

After many months of being displaced, Maria and her children finally danced into their new home in February 2019. They danced to the music of thanksgiving for the blessing of people in the many organizations, including the Diocese of Texas, who partnered together to sow and grow hope.

One of Maria’s sons held a welcome mat high with a “Bienvenidos” greeting as the family kicked off their muddy shoes before entering their new home. Maria’s eldest son danced in his stocking feet saying, “This feels like a mansion to me!” As youth volunteers from Youth Reach Houston worked for hours moving and assembling couches, tables, beds and chairs, Maria’s toddler sat on the floor using his toy tools to help.

The house was blessed, not with floodwater but a sprinkle of clean holy water, Bible verses and prayer. The children each received their own Bibles. They unpacked dishes, pondered where to put the wall hooks for their towels, and flopped with glee on freshly made beds. The dance of gratitude and the spirit of joy lasted throughout the day.

Bob and Don know that they have not lifted Maria and her family out of poverty. The family has deep challenges ahead of them. Maria knows that she has been given a great gift of a healthy, safe place to care for her family. The burden of that responsibility continues for her, but she has an opportunity to keep hoping and to keep dancing.

Like Maria, there are tens of thousands of others that have been impacted by Harvey and who are still in need of help and hope. Not a single person or an organization can respond to all their needs. Although the obstacles can be overwhelming along the way, it takes courage and partners to say “Go! We can do this. We can help.”

Maria’s new home and furnishings were sponsored in part by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas Hurricane Recovery program and Episcopal Relief & Development.

HER HEART WAS IN THEIR HANDS…

When a youth group from the Episcopal Church in Colorado came to Texas, for a week this summer, to help families rebuild after Harvey, they couldn’t possibly know what to expect. They quickly learned.

The group immediately began eagerly preparing homes for reconstruction, painting, and even landscaping. Shocked by the sight of desperate need for repair and restoration of so many homes, nearly two years after the storm, the youth worked tirelessly—while treating those they were helping with the utmost kindness and dignity.

One woman’s home was in great need of repair, on both the interior and exterior. Several members of the youth group took the initiative to clean the exterior of her home, and then organized rocks that were scattered about in the yardcreating a small rock garden.

When the homeowner saw this creation, the result of a meticulous labor of love, she began to cry. These rocks were not just any ordinary rocks to her: They were gifts that her children had brought back from their travels, along with an accompanying story. They always brought their mother a rock and a story that immediately gained sentimental value. These rocks symbolized and held the love of her children, and a bit of her family’s history.

The unsuspecting teenagers never anticipated that their simple gesture of moving the rocks would evoke such tears of joy and gratitude from the homeowner. They had not imagined making such a positive impact on a family in need through constructing a rock garden. They left behind an amount of hope that can’t be measured.

Many members of the youth group referenced the rock garden when asked about the most powerful experience during their trip to Texas to help others. They had no idea that they were holding a woman’s delicate heart in their hands.

One never knows how just a simple gesture can significantly help a family recover from a disaster. Tens of thousands of families still need help recovering from Hurricane Harvey. Your diocesan Hurricane Recovery team still needs

… AND THEN THERE WAS IMELDA

Storms on the Texas Gulf Coast form fast and hit hard. When Tropical Storm Imelda threatened to blow onshore this past September, the Diocese of Texas was prepared to respond equally as fast. The diocesan emergency communications system kicked into gear to connect with key congregational leaders to learn the most urgent needs of their communities. As Imelda deluged our region, areas near Beaumont and New Caney received over 40 inches of rain, even as some were still rebuilding from the 2017 Hurricane Harvey flood. Several churches launched into action with donations and frontline volunteers, and funding from Episcopal Relief & Development and our diocesan Quin Foundation arrived quickly.

When the roads became passable, our diocesan disaster recovery team stopped at a Walmart in southeast Texas to purchase gift cards for storm survivors, a gesture that offers immediate help and a little hope. “We asked each Walmart employee we encountered how they were affected by the storm,” reported Suzanne Hollifield, Coordinator for Harvey Volunteers. “The person who patiently rang up our gift cards told us that her disabled mother had to relocate from her flooded, first-floor apartment to her own upstairs apartment. What worried her most was that her mother had to sleep on a mattress on the floor, but she didn’t have the strength or mobility to get up.” Her Walmart supervisor gave her permission to leave work throughout the day to help her mother up off the floor to attend to her personal needs. “There’s a saying we use often,” said Stacy Stringer, Director of Hurricane Recovery. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can. We had a pickup truck and a credit card, so we did what we could.”

39 | epicenter.org Later that day conversations with Ubi Caritas Health Ministries and St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Beaumont revealed a similar need. Storm shelters were closing, and patients of Ubi Caritas had nowhere to go but back into their flood-soaked homes. “It was either go back home or be homeless,” one person explained. The diocesan disaster recovery team quickly sourced 90 brandnew bed sets, complete with bedding, and staff and volunteers from Ubi Caritas delivered them to grateful residents. Creating the sanctuary of a dry place to rest while survivors work to repair their own homes is one way to help families begin to heal. A combination of diverse community relationships, wisdom gleaned from the last storm, and abundant Episcopal generosity, all undergirded by the Holy Spirit, made it possible for the Diocese of Texas to bring tangible expressions of the Gospel of Jesus Christ to some neighbors in need.

EDOT Recovery Team January 9, 2020

"100 BOATS"

by Paulette E. Martin HARVEY DOCUMENTARY HIGHLIGHTS DIOCESAN RECOVERY WORK

At the time when Hurricane Harvey was causing historic devastation in Southeast Texas, self-taught filmmaker Syed Hasan found himself with a camera in his hand and decided to document the rescue and relief efforts by volunteers in his community “I knew I had to tell their story,” Hasan said.

As he followed along with volunteers from an emergency relief center in Tomball who got on boats to rescue those flooded out of their homes, he quickly noticed something special.

“I saw people from all races and religions put their differences aside and work together for the greater good. There were no divisions at this time of tragedy, there were only humans helping humans,” Hasan recalled.

Meanwhile in the Diocese of Texas, clergy at our congregations started to come forward, sharing the havoc Harvey had caused in their communities. The Rev. Stacy Stringer from Holy Trinity, Dickinson, and the Rev. Jim Liberatore from St. Andrew’s, Pearland, were just a few of many.

“When Harvey slammed our diocese, I was the rector in a severely impacted community, and Jim was the rector of a church that was assisting flood survivors,” Stringer said. “When I accepted the call to lead hurricane recovery work for our diocese, Jim was among the first people I contacted.”

Soon after Harvey, Stringer joined the diocesan staff as the Director of Hurricane Recovery; one of her tasks was to deploy and oversee generous, multi-year grants from Episcopal Relief & Development and the diocesan Quin Foundation. These resources are earmarked for highly vulnerable communities and are put to work through our churches and missional communities. Support to St. Andrew’s involved and continues to include funding to cover expenses associated with all facets of their work in Harvey recovery.

“Jim’s church was already a force for flood recovery, and I wanted to equip St. Andrew’s program, Mosaic in Action, to scale up in order to help more families rebuild their lives and homes,” Stringer said.

Liberatore and Debbie Allensworth, who have worked together in repairing homes for decades, decided to change gears and move into the full-time recovery business.

“We formed Mosaic in Action. We were immediately

embraced by the community in Brazoria County. We have helped over 250 homeowners return to safe, sanitary and secure homes,” said Liberatore.

Once Hasan learned about the work Stringer and Liberatore were doing, he reached out to them to highlight their work, in what would become part of his debut documentary, “100 Boats”.

“Syed wanted to learn about our diocesan long-term Harvey recovery program. We listened to each other’s Harvey storm experiences, which ran the spectrum from tragedy to heroism. I was moved by his deep care for flood survivors and his appreciation of first responders that inspired him to create this documentary,” Stringer said.

Hasan describes the help he received from Stringer as vital, as she also connected him with Liberatore and Allensworth, which ultimately allowed him to develop the second half of his film.

“I was able to highlight a community in Rosharon that had worked together to rebuild 180 homes that had been destroyed during Hurricane Harvey. The Episcopal Diocese of Texas and Mosaic in Action, through St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, were major contributors in the rebuilding of Rosharon, providing funds and supplies to hundreds of families that were affected by Harvey,” Hasan said.

Hasan hopes his documentary is able to deliver one key message to those who watch it.

“I hope viewers of this documentary are reminded about all the good and selfless people that are in this world. There are tens of thousands of people who work tirelessly every day to help others without expecting anything in return,” Hasan said.

If you would like to watch "100 Boats", the documentary is available on iTunes and Amazon Prime. For upcoming screenings, please visit www.100boatsfilm.com.

If you would like to help victims who are still in the recovery phase from Hurricane Harvey and Tropical Storm Imelda: contact the diocesan hurricane recovery team at edotHurricaneRecovery@epicenter.org so that together we may make a match between your God-given gifts and the needs of our most vulnerable families. You may also shop our alternative giving market at www.edothurricanerecovery.com, which benefits storm survivors. “Let us not grow weary in doing what is good.” (Galatians 6:9).