by Mark Treske My training is in dealing with words, not hammers, nails and saws. But it was with a view toward home improvement for a good cause – rebuilding Freeport houses damaged by superstorm Sandy – that I recently volunteered to help with a repair by Friends of Freeport of a house on South Long Beach Avenue. I was greeted by two dozen volunteers, ready to work, with a variety of stories – some experienced, some not, some heavily affected by the storms, some less so. Volunteer Rich Cantwell told this writer that members of Friends of Freeport joined together shortly after the storm, forming work crews and volunteering to gut houses and make them liveable, although in some cases other help is needed and offered. “We do what is needed,” he said. The house we worked on that day had already been gutted, so the day’s task was to put up insulation and drywall. The volunteers are organized by a more experienced volunteer who, after going over rules and procedures for keeping the workers safe, then asks, “Who knows how to put up drywall?” Having to answer no to that query, I spent the next while helping to insulate two rooms. This was my first time in an affected house, and you have no idea till you see this. The rooms are stripped to the bare walls, there is no lighting, and one can almost feel the effect of the storm still the life was sucked out of the rooms
along with some of the furnishings. But the Friends of Freeport volunteers bring to their work a spirit and enthusiasm as insulation is cut and stuck into the frames of the rooms. Before long, sheets of drywall are marched into the rooms and another step has been taken to erase the traces of the superstorm. Extreme yardwork I asked one of the people in charge what needed to be done next. “Drywall,” I was told, and then sweeping and cleaning. Being unable to help with that, I went outside, where coffee and doughnuts were available for the volunteers. At that time I found a task I was much better trained for than insulation – yardwork. Tree limbs were the main casualties of the storm on my home in North Valley Stream – but nothing prepares you for the task of dismantling an azalea that has been under five feet of water. Debris must be cleaned, and a discussion ensues as to whether the whole tree is dead and should be removed. A decision is made to cut it down to size in the hope that it will revive in the spring. A friend and fellow Rotarian, Norann McManus, stops by with an offer of assistance. Told that yardwork implements are needed, she departs and returns with several rakes and other garden implements. A pickup is launched in the back yard, and one of the volunteers warns, “If you’re going back there, wear gloves.” Indeed. The frame of a tent is back there, turned
into tinker-toy-like pieces by Sandy. Garbage is picked up. Nowhere elose have I seen such a display of the storm’s fury as in those few feet of back yard. Nonetheless, another house has been reclaimed, at least in part, from the storm. In addition to the repair work, groups such as Friends of Freeport instill hope by pulling a community together with the goal of returning Freeport, house by house and yard by yard, as near as possible to the time before there was a superstorm Sandy. The future Friends of Freeport are one of many organizations formed in communities to
provide local disaster aid. Mr. Cantwell is enthusiastic about the concept of a COAD (Community Organization Active in Disaster), in which churches, businesses and service organizations join together to help their hometown through a disaster. He thinks such an organization could work toward having a plan in place to save time in responding to needs in future emergencies. In the meantime, Friends of Freeport needs volunteers and assistance to continue its vital work. You can contact them online at friendsoffreeportny.org or on Facebook at Friends of Freeport NY.
FRIENDS OF FREEPORT volunteers hard at work.
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The Leader Thursday, April 11, 2013 Page 8
‘Friends of Freeport’ rebuilding one house at a time
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