GREEN COVE SPRINGS, Fla. - With hurricane preparations already underway across the First Coast, one organization is rallying local churches to help with post-storm recovery.
Clay Safety Net Alliance is an organization that brings together nonprofit, faith-based and local government agencies to serve Clay County residents.
“After the emergency workers are done it’s actually up to the community to do long-term recovery,” Andre Van Heerden, chair of Clay Safety Net Alliance and a local pastor, said. “We’ve had a good response from the local churches, but nothing compared to what we could get.”
Van Heerden said the organization worked with around 15-20 churches, but there are about 300 in the county. In a meeting at the Clay County Sheriff’s Office Tuesday, local clergy met to discuss their roles in post-storm recovery.
“Churches are generally the ones that will go in and help with the unmet needs, help our elderly recover, those types of things,” John Ward, Clay County Emergency Management Director, said. “They can rally the troops, they can intake a lot of the volunteer organizations that came in from outside the area. They were able to stay in our churches, the clergy group took care of them and housed them while they were out in the community.”
Clay County is one of three inland counties in the state to be considered “coastal” because of the St. Johns River. Around 1,300 homes were impacted by Hurricane Irma in Clay County, with about 500 destroyed by flooding.
The recovery can be a daunting task, which is why Van Heerden urged church leaders to get involved.
“You don’t have to do everything,” he said. “You just need to do one small thing.”
Ward urged Clay County residents to know their evacuation zones before disaster hits. For more information, click here.