Disaster Response Virgin Islands Project #34059

St. Croix Long-Term Recovery Group

by St. Croix Foundation for Community Development

Project Report | Dec 29, 2022
Building Stronger Systems for Resiliency

By Jay Rollins | Exec. Dir. for National & Regional Relationships

Stronger, more prepared together!

The spirit and resiliency of a people are most strongly on display in the aftermath of a disaster—especially after five years! As we continue to recover from Hurricanes Irma and Maria, in the midst of an ongoing pandemic disaster, the unity of our community continues to be vital for the achievement of a clear and concerted vision of a recovered and resilient St. Croix, USVI.

Brief History of the LTRG:
The St. Croix Long-Term Recovery Group (LTRG) is a cooperative body that is made up of representatives from faith-based, non-profit, government, business, and other organizations working within St. Croix to assist individuals and families as they recover from Hurricane Maria.

The goal of the LTRG is to unite recovery resources with community needs in order to ensure that even the most vulnerable in the community recover from the disaster. The LTRG officially formed under the fiscal sponsorship of the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development in 2015. Under the guidance of FEMA and the American Red Cross, members formed committees to carry out the work of the organization.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic forced us into some changes in how we continued to recover. We lost the opportunity to bring in volunteer teams to rebuild homes. Government programs focused on recovery came to halt as we weathered the pandemic storm. Despite these challenges, we were able to pivot to create new partnerships, stronger community engagement, capacity strengthening in technological communication, increased coordination with government agencies, and a renewed commitment from our member organizations to strive for a fully recovered island—and an island that will be prepared for the next disaster while coping with one we could not predict.

Brief History of the VI VOAD:
Virgin Islands Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VI VOAD), formed in June 2014, encompassed four islands in the USVI Territory. After formation, each island proceeded to coordinate its own emergency management action planning, however, there was a communication breakdown between the islands and with National VOAD (NVOAD).

After Irma/Maria in 2017, the Long Term Recovery Groups (LTRGs) united territorially in emergency response, recovery & resiliency efforts. As recovery funding has diminished, the LTRGs are transitioning to Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD), under the 501c3 umbrella of the VI VOAD and in compliance with NVOAD.

Today:
We are officially folding the STX LTRG into the STX COAD on December 31, 2022.

We continue to engage in a formal membership campaign, asset-mapping of our 150+ member organizations to better understand where resources are located throughout the island, a seat at the Virgin Islands Emergency Management Council table, trained members to staff Points of Distribution Centers in times of crisis and offered volunteers to work emergency shelters.

One of our main focus areas as the VI VOAD will be on community-based resiliency hubs. These hubs would allow for communities to survive in the immediate days following a disaster while we await additional outside relief—all in conjunction with the COADs on our sister islands and our government partners.

With all of this, we have not forgotten those in our community who are not back to a “new normal” from the storms of 2017. We still see the suffering of those without homes or a roof on their home almost five years after the storms. Through a grant through the VI VOAD, we are currently still rebuilding three homes for seniors on St. Croix. And we will continue to seek ways to help those still in need.

We are grateful for the support of the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development through their fiscal sponsorship and to our wonderful partners at GlobalGiving and Island Spirit Fund for their continued financial support and their commitment to continue this support into 2021.

With gratitude for allowing us to serve the St. Croix community and our sister islands,

The staff of the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group:

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Oct 31, 2022
Meeting the Mark and Building for the Future

By Jay Rollins | Exec. Dir. for National & Regional Relationships

Bringing Community Together Around Preparedness!

In this reporting period, we continued with our asset mapping project with the assistance of our partners at FEMA. We reached another milestone, reaching more than 650 community members for disaster preparedness trainings. These included faith-based organizations, rotaries, housing communities, churches, businesses, and this month our first school presentation to the leadership staff & teachers.

We continue to work with our sister islands to strengthen the work of the VI Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). This year, we have applied for two grants with the intention of applying for Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Response and Mitigation (CDBG-DR & CDBG-Mit) to support the Community Resiliency Hub pilot program and our Disaster Case Managers (DCMs).

We are grateful for the support of the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development through their fiscal sponsorship and to our wonderful partners at GlobalGiving and Island Spirit Fund for their continued financial support. And to Episcopal Relief and Development for underwriting a territory-wide Unmet Needs grant.

We are now in the process of transitioning from our Long Term Recovery Group status to the St. Croix COAD (Community Organizations Active in Disaster) as we turn our focus to preparing for all hazards that could impact our island. We have moved into new office space and are even more accessible to community members. As part of this transition, we have folded our Disaster Case Management program. While we still have clients that we are assisting, we no longer have the funds to support this program full-time.

With gratitude for allowing us to serve the St. Croix community and our sister islands,

The staff of the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group:

Sharing, Learning, Growing Stronger Together...

Learning the basics on emergency care

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Jun 24, 2022
Meeting Unmet Needs with Fidelity!

By Jay Rollins | Exec. Dir. for National & Regional Relationships

Keeping Our Community Prepared!

In this reporting period, we were so PLEASED to be able to have our first in-person gathering in almost two full years. More than fifty of our members and faith leaders came together to begin updating our Community Asset Map, discuss the plans for the Community Resiliency Hubs, and plan preparedness workshops that are now taking place throughout the island. We have continued expanding into more businesses (public and private sector) as we deliver Continuity Planning, are still striving to build strong volunteer teams, and increase First Responder Awareness among community organizations and varying neighborhood locations.

We continue to work with our sister islands to strengthen the work of the VI Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD). This year, we have applied for two grants with the intention to also apply for a Community Development Block Grant - Disaster Response and Mitigation (CDBG-DR & CDBG-Mit) to support the Community Resiliency Hub pilot program and our Disaster Case Managers (DCMs).

We are grateful for the support of the St. Croix Foundation for Community Development for their support as a fiscal sponsor and our wonderful partners at GlobalGiving and the Island Spirit Fund for their continued financial support. And to Episcopal Relief and Development for underwriting a territory-wide Unmet Needs grant, we extend our sincere appreciation.

With gratitude for allowing us to serve the St. Croix community and our sister islands,

The staff of the St. Croix Long Term Recovery Group
Jay Rollins, Executive Director for National & Regional Relationships
Delia Richardson, Executive Director for Community Engagement
Christina Joseph, Executive Assistant
Rosalie Javois, VISTA

DISASTER CASE MANAGEMENT and UNMET NEEDS
During this reporting period, the Disaster Case Management program continued its usual activities serving, supporting, and advocating for program enrollees recovering from Hurricanes Irma and Maria. Almost all await reconstruction or repair through the Envision Tomorrow Program (ENT). ENT continues to be plagued with delays caused by staffing changes, major disagreements over costs with VIHFA (VI Housing Finance Authority), lack of qualified personnel, reliance on off-island environmental inspectors, delays in contracting a construction management company, and many other challenges. Although some clients are completely vetted through the entire approval process none have received timelines for beginning home repair or re-construction. Two clients received mandated pre-construction evaluation but no follow-up has taken place since then. We continue to work with our clients in locating alternative resources with limited results given many clients’ aversion to loans, numerous national natural disasters in the interim, the pandemic, inflation, and the continuous crisis affecting everyone since 2017.

In January we were preparing to start much-needed hurricane repairs for an elderly client with funds from the Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) approved through the Unmet Needs Committee of the Virgin Islands Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VI VOAD) when the client abruptly passed away. Needless to say, the entire team was devastated, since so much effort, partnership and time were invested in what in all respects was on the brink of becoming a very successful outcome. Our DCM is now assisting another client, without resources, who is 84 years old and will hopefully meet the criteria for this funding so she can resume abiding in her home.

Overall, in the aftermath of COVID-19, hopefully, re-construction activity will get fully underway and the 200 homes slated for repair will be completed through the ENT program. We continue to maintain ongoing contact with clients, providing support, referrals for needed services, assistance with documentation, and advocacy. We provide an outlet for clients to express their frustration and annoyance with hurricane recovery and rebuild entities while gently shifting their attention to smaller goal attainment and self-advocacy skill development that can make their lives easier in the interim.

DATE: June 1, 2022
REPORTING PERIOD: February 1, 2022 – April 30, 2022

Client Case Load Metrics
Total clients to date: 118
Total Cases Closed: 83
Total Active Cases: 35
New Enrollment: 2
Number of cases closed: 5
Clients served: 40
Numbers of repairs, estimates, and construction activities: 11
Total hours for construction and repair estimates: 326

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