From the Rockaways – Selma & Star
Starting just days after Hurricane Sandy, our volunteers have been going door to door in hard hit areas reaching out to people affected by Sandy. They knock on doors and see what services and support residents need from the city and FEMA. In some cases, our volunteers are the first responders to reach residents since the storm struck.
Selma Erey is a New York Cares Team Leader. She’s led teams on New York Cares Day Spring & Fall, Love a Library Day, and school-related projects such as SAT Prep and more. Selma lives in the Rockaways and shares her experience with us:
I spent the night of October 28th and 29th at Star’s (her friend Deborah Star Reed is also a New York Cares volunteer residing in the Rockaways). That’s when the surge happened. The Atlantic Ocean and Jamaica Bay joined, with epic Nor’easter winds chasing the water inland. Fifteen feet of water came crashing through Star’s bay room door and filled her home (and mine too, though I did not see that first hand). She had a large boat dry-docked in her driveway that floated away. Her deck, pier, and basement were destroyed. My home may be totally wrecked. The first floor, sun room, garage, and laundry room were flooded. The garden ruined. The deck in front of Jamaica Bay was emptied of the teak furniture I had tied down as the surge rose way above the deck wall. The Honda CRV I parked in my driveway was submerged at first, then started floating. Now we are taking baby steps to put things back together. [See Selma's video here: http://www.youtube.com/
Thank you for your heart warming concern and offers to help. Providence is with us: Star and I are alive and well. Our homes and those of our neighbors suffered extensive damage. We are all on the mend, dealing with whatever it takes to put our lives back together. A very special comfort for me was to meet New York Cares volunteer canvassers who knocked on my door to inquire about my well being and needs. New York Cares caring goes right where it counts!
Due to the damage, many Rockaway students have missed class. So Selma’s asked for our help in putting together a Khan Math Room in Peninsula Library to help them catch up. Star hopes to start a music and theater project for kids. We’re on it – if we can help, we will.
We’re inspired by New Yorkers like Selma and Star who are doing so much to help others, despite their own hardships.
You can help people like Selma and Star in the Rockaways. Sign up now for a Hurricane Sandy relief project.
PS – Selma and Star were interviewed by NY1 just before the storm.
This is a great story and I am glad you shared it. Now if you let me share my own quickly that would be excellent.
I too have friends in Rockaway, many. I was texting and talking to friends that decided to stick it out, some that missed the bay side tide schedule and got stuck. Immediately after the storm, my twin went out, checked in our our friends in Neponsit, Bell Harbor, and Rockaway 91st and Far Rockaway. The description he gave was an APOCALYPSE.
A friend of mine and NY Cares member asked her friends to join. I reached out, filled an online form out and the earliest orientation date I got was in fact for tomorrow. Needless to say, I was a bit shocked by this given that the magnitude of this storm cut off people from basic needs and could not wait two weeks. I called other agencies too, like the Red Cross and got the same.
My, twin Rennie, and friends like Joe Bachana decided to just go out on our own – and noticed that NOBODY was there. DHS had 1 truck, there was no food and there was a makeshift stand by a small church. We called 311 and a number of agencies – and their response was “we are on it” yet they were not.
We then spent our money, after making donations to the typical outlets, bought food and fed these people. In particular a woman in her 60′s who had not eaten in 2 days or had FRESH water and a family of 4. Our car load of food was gone in minutes – and people were still hungry. It was like we were living in another world. Two in fact – those unaffected and perhaps not fully aware and those that lost everything and were in dire straights.
We decided that it would be better to act that to wait for groups like NYcares and ARC – so we inspired people to join groups including ours and we inspired one man – which I will not name – who managed to get 10 tons of food delivered YESTERDAY. And I can’t begin to tell you how much he did during the week. This after again donating to the channels.
Our small group of now a few hundred, along with groups like Occupy Sandy, Team Rubicon, F.R.E.W JASA and BAYA have touched the lives directly of thousands. This weekend alone our group of about 200 helped clean out dozens basements in Rockaway and Staten Island, and have canvassed hundred of apartments. And we are just one group.
Had NYcares been more flexible about enrollment and screening – I would have been wearing your badge. Instead, there are groups like mine that have organized and have both the media, community and money behind us. With many possibly sustained for a very long time. I believe this is how NYCare started.
In the future and in times of crisis – please reconsider your volunteer enrollment policy. Imagine how many more people you would have had knocking doors and helping people for you.
Best,
Ray Alba
PS sorry for any typos..
Comment by Raymond Alba - November 12, 2012 @ 11:48 am
Thank you for sharing your story with us, and for all the hard work you’ve done! We did wave the orientation requirement for signing up for Hurricane Sandy projects so we apologize if you had difficulty signing up. You can learn more here: http://newyorkcares.org/volunteer/disaster/
Comment by Susan Torres - November 12, 2012 @ 2:32 pm