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CREATING COMMUNITIES. CHANGING LIVES.<br />
While it has been months since<br />
Hurricane Irene and Tropical<br />
Storm Lee took their devastat-<br />
ing toll on Eastern Pennsylvania,<br />
<strong>Lutheran</strong> Disaster Response (LDR)<br />
is still helping those who are<br />
struggling to recover. A generous<br />
grant of $30,000 from the<br />
Evangelical Church in America is<br />
helping LDR, a service of <strong>Liberty</strong><br />
<strong>Lutheran</strong>, continue their long<br />
term disaster recovery efforts in<br />
Eastern Pennsylvania.<br />
“There are still a lot of people with<br />
significant unmet needs,” said Julia<br />
Menzo, Volunteer Engagement and LDR<br />
Co-Coordinator for Eastern Pennsylvania.<br />
“They feel like they’ve been forgotten.”<br />
After the storms hit late last summer, LDR<br />
began organizing teams of volunteers to<br />
clean and restore the homes of people like<br />
Evelyn Snyder, who has lived in her home<br />
in Upper Black Eddy since 1975, and never<br />
experienced flooding before.<br />
“I didn’t know what to do,” Evelyn said.<br />
“My son and grandson came over to help,<br />
but we didn’t know where to start; all<br />
we did was watch the water come in.<br />
I was devastated.” Evelyn’s fully-furnished<br />
basement was destroyed.<br />
“It put me in such a depression,” she said.<br />
“Almost 75 percent of what I had down there<br />
I had to throw away. There are a few things<br />
2<br />
AFTER THE<br />
At <strong>Liberty</strong> • www.libertylutheran.org<br />
Flood<br />
Evelyn Snyder stands by the Delaware Canal near her home in Upper Black Eddy.<br />
that I hope I can save. I can’t replace them<br />
because they were my mother’s.”<br />
Evelyn found out about LDR from a<br />
concerned neighbor. “I never knew an<br />
organization like that existed,” she said.<br />
“They were my lifesavers.”<br />
Volunteers tore up carpet, took down wall<br />
paneling, and disposed of everything that<br />
was ruined. “I don’t know what I would have<br />
done without them,” Evelyn said. “I’ve kept<br />
in touch with them ever since.”<br />
The grant will allow LDR to continue to work<br />
with Philadelphia and Montgomery Counties,<br />
and 10 counties in Northeast Pennsylvania<br />
to facilitate long term recovery. “People are<br />
always very surprised, and are so thankful.<br />
They didn’t know that this kind of help was<br />
available,” said Julia. “I feel really good about<br />
the work that we are doing.”
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