Hurricane Sandy Relief Effort/Volunteer

Shorefront Y's Emergency Response Post Sandy

The Shorefront YM-YWHA, located at the ocean in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, has served as the epicenter of disaster relief for all of the south Brooklyn neighborhoods hard hit by Hurricane Sandy since the storm hit on October 29, 2012. We have and will continue to work with residents, business and community groups throughout the Coney Island Peninsula and beyond--Sea Gate, Coney Island, Brighton Beach, Manhattan Beach, Sheepshead Bay, Gerritsen Beach and Canarsie. The Shorefront Y will remain committed to this work for as long as it takes to ensure that our community members receive the help they need and life in our neighborhoods emerges even stronger than before the storm.

What are we doing now?

Building social capital for continuing recovery and disaster preparedness in South Brooklyn. As part of this initiative, Shorefront Y provides direct services to vulnerable populations, especially poor and low-income immigrants, undocumented residents, and older adults.
Developing systems for communicating with and engaging hard-to reach individuals that are most vulnerable during emergencies.
Collaborating with other local organizations in order to establish communication & information hubs where our emergency preparedness materials will be distributed.
Providing free and confidential chaplaincy counseling; a non-denominational spiritual care designed to help victims of Hurricane Sandy move forward.
Have become an active member of the Brooklyn Long Term Recovery group by having staff on steering committee, allowing us to host events and share resources that are available for our community.
Six full time Disaster Case Managers funded through Catholic Charities have joined the Shorefront Y staff in order to help victims in their long-term recovery, such as finding affordable & safe housing.
Working with Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, we have already surveyed over 2,000 households throughout the affected area. Our outreach workers speak English, Spanish, Urdu, Tagalog, Russian, Mandarin, and Cantonese.
Providing on site financial counseling and referring clients to legal assistance on issues such as FEMA appeals, insurance claim appeals, landlord-tenant disputes, eviction prevention, document replacement, etc. with support from NYLAG & UJA-Federation of New York.
Seeking out community leaders to assure that smaller groups within the area are receiving the support that they need in a culturally and linguistically sensitive environment.

Quick facts about the Shorefront Y's Sandy Response since October 29, 2012.

Housed FEMA & SBA (Small Business Administration), allowing them to provide support to our community directly from our premises until March 29, 2013.
Worked closely with the Mayor's Office, the Brighton Beach Business Improvement District, & other local not for profit organizations to develop a volunteer response to assess the housing issues and life situation issues for residents from Sea Gate to Gerristen Beach.
Held community workshops on topics such as disaster preparedness, emergency management, climate change, mold, & public health concerns. These meetings were held in English, as well as other languages spoken by many of our community residents.
Partnered with the Tzu Chi foundation to secure cash grants to over 350 immigrant families that had no access to other resources or support services.
3,500 electric heaters along with 62,000 warm blankets have been distributed to homes with no heat.
95 apartment buildings & 2,900 private homes have been canvassed, creating a large scale database filled with vital information such as medical needs of residents, as well as a real-time list of building conditions.
22,000 food & water packages have been delivered directly to the homes of homebound elderly.
100 homes have been cleaned from debris, damaged furniture and destroyed household items.
908 volunteers have taken part of our relief efforts.
Managing Hurricane Sandy relief funding received from the Robin Hood Foundation to assist individuals who are most vulnerable and need help with moving & housing.