Parishes mobilize to assist flood victims
By Chris Donahue
Staff Writer
STOCKTON — Julia Grecco’s home had been damaged twice by floods since September 2004, so when authorities predicted the Delaware River would overflow its banks again in late June, she and her family relied on the good will of others to mitigate the effects.
Although the basement of her home on Mill Street was flooded June 29, vital items such as major appliances had been moved by family and friends to dry ground the day before. And with the help of a de-humidifier donated by her parish, St. John the Evangelist, Lambertville, her home is becoming more comfortable.
The donation of the de-humidifier is not the first time the church has helped Grecco, 39, her husband, Tony, 48, and three young children. Catholic Charities, Metuchen provided financial assistance to help the family recover from the last flood in April 2005, Grecco said.
Also, Patty Hendricks, a fellow parishioner, allowed the Greccos to stay in her home for more than a week during the cleanup.
“It takes an amazing amount of people to help you do this,” Grecco said. “It takes people and friends who care a lot about you. It warms my heart. At one point I turned people away from my door and told them to help other people. To know I have that many people who will come and help me is a godsend. I could not have done it without them.”
Grecco said she decided to contact her parish for help after Father Marian Drozd, parochial vicar, and several others from the parish visited Stockton a couple days after the flood to offer assistance.
Among those who knocked on doors July 1 was Chris Flack, director, Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults for the parish. “We definitely felt like it was putting our faith in action. We know these people. We felt like it was something that needed to be done,” she said.
“Most people just needed to talk,” Flack added. “It is the third time in less than two years they’ve been flooded. Some of them have had their houses up for sale since the last time. If they weren’t home we left a letter saying we would be glad to be of service and several people did.”
Members of the parish donated gift certificates for home improvement stores, Flack said. For more expensive items, people received assistance filling out forms for Catholic Charities, Metuchen. Items such as furnaces, water heaters, carpet and wood floors are not covered by flood insurance, she said.
Deacon Joseph J. Masterson, director of the parish’s Society of St. Vincent de Paul, said the parish helped people of many faiths. “A lot of them lost either their heater or refrigerator or rugs,” he said.
Catholic Charities has also provided assistance to dozens of families, including those in St. Patrick Parish, Belvidere, and St. Philip and St. James Parish, Phillipsburg, said Erica Bertoli, a spokeswoman for the organization.
A special collection for victims was made during Masses at St. Philip and St. James July 1-2 and donated to Catholic Charities, said Deacon Bill Vanzino, the parish’s business manager.
“It devastated both sides of the river and some roads were closed for a long time,” Deacon Vanzino said. “Homes north of us on the New Jersey side — Harmony Township and toward Belvidere — it’s terrible.”
Federal assistance
President George W. Bush declared New Jersey a disaster area July 7, making the state eligible for federal aid to supplement state and local recovery effort. Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses, and other programs to help individuals and business owners recover from the effects of the disaster.
About 250 homes in Lambertville were impacted by the flood, said David K. Burd, coordinator of the city’s Office of Emergency Management. All but a handful of the residents were able to return to their homes as of July 10, he said.
“The human outreach before, during and after the flood to the residents in helping them prepare and cope with the event was very heartwarming,” Burd said.
“We’re quite happy that the municipality and the county have been declared a disaster area for individual and public assistance,” he added.
A disaster recovery center is being set up in Lambertville to provide assistance in filling out claim forms for individuals; while the U.S. Small Business Administration will also be present to provide assistance, Burd said.
Flood victims should not prejudge their ability to receive assistance even if they do not have all the information necessary, said Lt. Bill McDonnell, N.J. state coordinating officer.
“Even if you have already registered with the American Red Cross or another voluntary agency or have reported damage to county or local officials, you should apply for the federal and state assistance programs by calling the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s toll-free number or going online,” McDonnell said.
Catholic Charities can be reached at (732) 257-6100.
N.J. residents may call for FEMA assistance at (800) 621-3362. An application is available online at www.fema.gov. For more information visit www.state.nj.us/njoem/.
*The attached/referenced article was originally published in The Catholic Spirit, the official newspaper of the Diocese of Metuchen, and is protected under U.S. and international copyright law