In response to the inquiries we have received about our involvement in Hurricane Harvey rebuilding:
Yes, we anticipate helping needy households rebuild in the Houston area in response to widespread property damage and loss due to Hurricane Harvey. We are prayerfully considering future efforts to act, not as “first responders”, but as “primary charitable rebuilders” after the water has receded and initial recovery efforts are underway.
Hosanna Industries travels to areas of disaster to help with the mobilizing of large groups of volunteers to build and repair homes damaged by tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding, or other catastrophic events to bring hope and restoration to hurting individuals and communities. We’ve worked after multiple disasters, including Hurricanes Andrew, Floyd and Katrina, among others. In 2005, Hosanna assisted over 500 households with rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Ivan flooded parts of the Pittsburgh region. We are currently in the midst of rebuilding Richwood, WV, after the 2016 “thousand year flood,” and have helped 32 households so far this year, implementing the labor efforts of our staff of mission worker, skilled subcontractors, and more than 900 volunteers.
Because of our extensive and varied experience with disaster relief and rebuilding, we see disaster recovery as a multiple phase process. These phases, can be described as follows:
- Immediate emergency intervention (rescue, emergency relocation and temporary shelter/food/medical care, etc)
- Initial cleanup and utility restoration following the cessation of the initial calamity
- Evaluation and strategic community-based consensus building
- Actual physical rebuilding/reconstruction/repair
- Continuing analysis, evaluation, and long-term recovery problem solving
Our current news media culture often depicts disaster and recovery as happening almost simultaneously or suggesting that this be so, and public expectations sometimes project the same views. In the actual field of disaster recovery, this is not the case, should not be expected to be the case, and in many ways simply cannot be the case tactically and logistically.
It will take some time for the first few phases to be complete, and some funds. In reality, the most expensive phase is #4, and the immediate fundraising that happens after a natural disaster is often meant for or used toward the first two phases only. Unfortunately, our culture has a short attention span and when the time for actual rebuilding begins, the culture and news media will have moved on to new topics, while Houston is left trying to rebuild, at costs initially estimated to be some $40 billion dollars.
Hosanna Industries is requesting a few things:
- Prayers for people affected by Hurricane Harvey
- Let us know if you were personally affected, or have any connections with agencies in the area that may need help with rebuilding efforts. We are specifically looking to help under-insured or under-resourced homeowners. (The Washington Post estimates that 80% of those affected do not have flood insurance.)
- Keep us in prayer as we explore the possibilities, come up with a plan, and begin fundraising, volunteer recruitment, and organizational efforts.
About Hosanna Industries: Hosanna Industries was founded in 1990 as a faith-rooted, non-profit mission whose work involves a variety of charitable initiatives aimed at helping our needy neighbors. By the grace of God and through the mechanical and aesthetic arts, mission workers at Hosanna Industries build and repair homes for needy households; teach and lead classes and workshops in art, nature and spirituality; and train young people in construction skills. Since our founding in 1990 Hosanna Industries has provided around $52 million worth of charitable work to the community for around $15 million. We depend on the generosity of others to complete our work.
