Bidding a Fond Farewell To Port Arthur, Texas

CRWRC Newsroom | November 19, 2009

Sometimes it is easy to say goodbye.  That’s the case for the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee’s Disaster Response Services and the community of Port Arthur, Texas.  While CRWRC’s volunteers will miss the hospitality of this community and the camaraderie of local staff, they are glad that their work there will be complete, and needs will have been met after more than three and a half years.  When they close up their construction site in December 2009, they will know that they have helped Hurricane Rita survivors in a real and lasting way – and that feels good.

CRWRC first went to Port Arthur in late September 2005, hours after Hurricane Rita had made landfall between Sabine Pass, Texas and Johnsons Bayou, Louisiana as a category 3 storm.  The storm had knocked down trees, torn roofs off of houses, and caused incalculable damage to property.  CRWRC’s Rapid Response volunteers went to Port Arthur to clear debris and bring hope to the community.

Soon after, local churches and non-profits worked together to form the Southeast Texas Interfaith Organizations (SETIO).  They asked CRWRC to return to Port Arthur to conduct a Needs Assessment to determine what needs remained in the community.  CRWRC Needs Assessment volunteers went door to door to more than 2,300 homes, talking to 830 homeowners to ask them about damage, levels of insurance, and the ability of the homeowners to address needs on their own.  They also spoke on the phone with many of the additional 1,482 families who were not home when the volunteers visited, but received the call-in card that was left. Those who would need additional help were referred back to SETIO.

Given the high level of needs identified by the Needs Assessment teams, SETIO asked CRWRC to return once again, this time to help repair and rebuild homes.  CRWRC Disaster Response Services set-up a construction site in Port Arthur in October 2006.  Since then, teams of volunteers have come for three weeks at a time to address many of the needs that were identified by the Needs Assessment team.  Bit by bit, roofs have been replaced, homes have been repaired, and new houses have been built.  In total, CRWRC volunteers helped approximately 90 families get back into their homes.

But CRWRC’s Disaster Response Services is not done yet.  After finishing their time in Port Arthur in December, CRWRC will focus its attention on Galveston, Texas where many families are still living in damaged homes or trailers following Hurricane Ike in 2008.  CRWRC’s Director of Disaster Response, Bill Adams, estimates that it will take two years and about $250,000 to respond to the unmet needs that remain in Galveston.  CRWRC is up to the challenge.

“We want to help those most vulnerable,” concluded Adams, “no matter how long it takes.”

To support CRWRC’s ministry in Galveston, please  donate online:  US | Canada

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- by Kristen deRoo VanderBerg