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The
STORMS may be over,
but the DISASTERS are still with us!
Hurricane Rita hit the shores of southeast Texas and
southwest Louisiana on September 24, 2005; and fast on its
tail was the devastating ravages of Hurricane Ike in
2008. Thousands of lives along the Texas Gulf Coast were affected by
Hurricane Ike's storm surge and requested assistance from
FEMA as well as every hurricane recovery organization that
was available.
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Five weeks after
Hurricane Ike made landfall, state and federal financial
assistance to help homeowners, renters and businesses
recover from uninsured and underinsured losses exceeds
$316 million.
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Thirty-four Texas
counties were designated for Individual Assistance
(Angelina, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Cherokee, Fort
Bend, Galveston, Gregg, Grimes, Hardin, Harris,
Harrison, Houston, Jasper, Jefferson, Liberty, Madison,
Matagorda, Montgomery, Nacogdoches, Newton, Orange,
Polk, Rusk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby,
Smith, Trinity, Tyler, Walker, Waller, and Washington).
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$261 million approved in
grants for individuals. Of that, more than $216
million was for housing and more than $45 million for
other disaster-related needs.
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$55.4 million in disaster
loans from the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).
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More than 703,000
individuals have applied for disaster assistance.
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Nearly 306,000 damaged
properties have been reviewed by FEMA inspectors.
Most
of these families are living in trailers or mold-infested homes with little hope of
recovery. Hundreds of homes have been transformed by
volunteers and donated materials, but thousands more need to
be repaired.
Please... help us assist them!
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SETIO Department Heads
Top Left: Bob Williamson,
Advocacy; Top Right: Louis May, Volunteer Coordinator
Standing left to right: Jonnye Williamson, Director; Christy
Bryant, Finance Director; Tiffany Guillory, Associate
Director; Monica Sanchez, Case Management Supervisor;
Beverly May, Office Manager
Front row left to right:
O.W. Withrow, Grants Coordinator; Scott Whitehead,
Construction Supervisor-Ike; Jarrod Anderson, Construction
Supervisor-Rita & Savannah Housing
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Southeast Texas Interfaith Organization Staff
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SETIO Staff |
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Through the dedication of
its staff, SETIO has been able to put families back into
their homes following the ravages of both hurricanes Rita
and Ike.
Louis May, Setio's
Volunteer Coordinator, works to bring volunteers to
Southeast Texas from all over the United States as well as
from Canada. Louis is a member of the Rapid Response
Team.
O. W. Withrow, Grants
Coordinator, helps to keep grants applied to homes.
Bob Williamson, Advocacy,
organizes and works in 27 southeast Texas counties to
advocate for those affected by disasters. He is also a
member of the Rapid Response Team.
Scott Whitehead,
Construction Supervisor-Ike, oversees the construction on
Ike-damaged homes.
Jarrod Anderson,
Construction Supervisor-Rita & Savannah Housing, oversees
the completion of Hurricane Rita-damaged homes and, through
Savannah Housing, helps to get families into new housing.
Monica Sanchez, Case
Management Supervisor, oversees full case management of
clients.
Beverly May, Office
Manager, maintains the everyday operations of SETIO offices.
She also keeps minutes of board meetings for SETIO and
Savannah Housing, and she is a member of the Rapid Response
Team
Christy Bryant, Finance
Director, is responsible for all accounting procedures.
Tiffany Guillory, Associate Director and
Community Liaison, works alongside the Director to oversee
all phases of SETIO operations. Jonnye
Williamson, Director, oversees the operations of SETIO,
Savannah Housing and Disaster Response. She is also a
member of the Rapid Response Team. |
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CRWRC
members from left to right: Mel Melissen, Ron and Sandy Kast
and Glenn Hartger.
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Volunteer Spotlight
In September 2006, 19 members of
the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), or as
they are more fondly referred to as "The Green Shirts",
arrived in Port Arthur to conduct a comprehensive Community
Needs Assessment on Hurricane Rita damaged homes.
Over 800 interviews were
conducted by CRWRC and local volunteers during the month.
Assessments were then prioritized and turned over to SETIO
case management and construction staff.
SETIO
would like to thank the entire team who worked so hard
despite the heat, mosquitoes and rain and selflessly gave
their time and love to assist our community!
Team
members: Mel Melissen, Ron & Sandy Kast, Glenn &
Sharon Hartger, Richard & Patricia Grasman, Morley & Emily
Brummel, Len & Marilyn Hartman, Sally Jo Wieling, Helen
Linders, Harold & Anna Porte, Tom & Char Glass and Richard &
Marlene Cleveland. Our special thanks to Noel Elmore,
a volunteer with Lutheran Social Services, who also provided
a tremendous amount of time and love to this project.
THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!
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