GA starts interfaith group

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GA starts interfaith group

http://www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=2630

HEATHER MOYER

ST. MARY'S, Ga. (April 29, 2005) —

One woman has been to the hospital three times in the past few

months with respiratory issues – and that may just be the beginning

of a series of illnesses due to mold in some south Georgia homes.

Black mold covers the walls in a home flooded after Hurricane

Jeanne. (Photo courtesy Bob Tribble, Lutheran Disaster Response)

" We're going to have so many health issues in the future due to this

mold, " said Bob Tribble of Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) in

Georgia. " It's a dangerous environment to breathe in every day –

it's awful. "

Several south Georgia counties were hit hard during last September's

Hurricane Jeanne – including Charlton County, which did not receive

a federal disaster declaration. Numerous residents of this poverty-

stricken county are now living in homes full of black mold.

But an interfaith long-term recovery committee is forming to help

out families in the area. The group will also assist some of the

bordering northeast Florida counties that did receive federal

declarations. The Rev. Barb Gibson will head up Relying on

Interfaith Volunteers Engaged in Recovery (RIVER), referencing the

St. 's River which runs between the affected counties in both

states.

" We're starting this from scratch, " said Gibson, who pastors Joy

Lutheran Church in St. 's, Georgia. " This is brand new for us,

no one around here has done a disaster relief interfaith before. "

With help from local and regional Presbyterian, United Methodist and

Episcopal churches, as well as the national denominations, RIVER is

just about ready to assist the families in need. The only thing

holding up the group is the paperwork that would make it an official

nonprofit, but Gibson estimates that will be completed in two weeks.

In the meantime, the American Red Cross has been helping keep track

of families in need and engaging in a longer-than-usual care period

for them, added Gibson. Gibson anticipates at least 12 families

needing immediate help, but others will most likely surface once

word gets out, she said. In the initial months after Jeanne struck,

as many as 81 homes in Charlton County alone were reported to have

suffered significant damage.

The first major issue RIVER will contend with is providing temporary

homes for the families, some of whom have been living with friends

or family since last fall and other who've had no choice but to stay

in their mold-infested homes – like the woman Tribble mentioned.

" Charlton County is a poor county, " noted Gibson. " River basin land

is cheap, and the folks who live there are low-income families. But

they are still human beings and God's children on this earth – and

we as God's church are called to help them. "

Already, monetary assistance is arriving via donations from LDR and

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and will be used once the nonprofit

status is attained. Gibson and Tribble are also seeking other

funding sources. Possible future temporary housing will also be

useful for incoming rebuild volunteers, Gibson added.

She noted that a local United Methodist Church that does regular

home rebuild trips around the country may be utilized in some of the

home repair process as well. Local churches also have a relationship

with the regional Habitat for Humanity, so that may be utilized,

too, she said.

Overall, everything is coming together, Gibson and Tribble

agreed. " The process has moved slowly, but when it does come

together – it will work, " said Tribble, who also serves as vice

president of the Georgia chapter of Voluntary Organizations Active

in Disasters.

Gibson agreed. " Things are coming into place. It's kind of like

throwing a jigsaw puzzle into the air and hoping a few pieces of the

puzzle fall together in the right place – and they are. "

Posted April 29, 2005 11:39 AM

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Related Web Sites:

American Industrial Hygiene Association Mold Page

Toxic Black Mold Information Center