JBFCS Staff Lend a Helping Hand to Staten Island Residents
Through the Human Resources Administration/NYC - a request came out last week for agencies to assume staffing and case management for various regions of the city hit hardest by Hurricane Sandy. JBFCS submitted our application and was notified less than 24 hours later that our proposal was accepted. We began our work at the Staten Island Restoration Center on Sunday and continued for a full day yesterday. I want to share with you the report from the trenches.
The NYC Restoration Center on Staten Island saw over 120 individuals and families on Monday. Four JBFCS staff members [Lisa Martin, Tara Brennan, Robert McMinn and Carmen Collado] worked the full 12 hour shift from 8am-8pm partnering with Catholic Charities staff to provide intake and help people access services. FEMA was at the facility plus 12 city agencies coordinating financial, housing, repairs, NYC aging and DOHMH referrals). We were also active in crisis counseling, conducting exit interviews and record keeping.
This was the first day of the center's operations and there was a lot of work to do establishing systems and sharing knowledge at the same time that everyone's focus was the profound immediate needs of visitors.
Some families were living in homes still without power and others are living in very badly damaged homes. Foremost in most visitors minds was arranging for repairs and power restorations and securing financial assistance. Every visitor was clearly struggling with issues of trauma requiring intervention ranging from calm help accessing services to more serious crisis counseling. Several had serious medical conditions worsened by the storm and needed assistance regulating their affect in order for them to take control of their situation.
JBFCS was called upon to concretely demonstrate our non-denominational identity as we were administering to the needs of a primarily Italian and Irish Catholic population. We have successfully recruited Russian bilingual and culturally competent staff to start tomorrow in order to meet the high demand for that as well.
Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Borough President Molinaro all visited the center and expressed their appreciation for our efforts.
This was the first day of the center's operations and there was a lot of work to do establishing systems and sharing knowledge at the same time that everyone's focus was the profound immediate needs of visitors.
Some families were living in homes still without power and others are living in very badly damaged homes. Foremost in most visitors minds was arranging for repairs and power restorations and securing financial assistance. Every visitor was clearly struggling with issues of trauma requiring intervention ranging from calm help accessing services to more serious crisis counseling. Several had serious medical conditions worsened by the storm and needed assistance regulating their affect in order for them to take control of their situation.
JBFCS was called upon to concretely demonstrate our non-denominational identity as we were administering to the needs of a primarily Italian and Irish Catholic population. We have successfully recruited Russian bilingual and culturally competent staff to start tomorrow in order to meet the high demand for that as well.
Mayor Bloomberg, Deputy Mayor Linda Gibbs and Borough President Molinaro all visited the center and expressed their appreciation for our efforts.
Leave a Comment