All Hands and Hearts - Smart Response

On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck southern Türkiye, and northern Syria followed by three major quakes killing almost 60,00 people and displacing millions more from their homes. Our team has been on the ground since February 7, coordinating with local and international organizations to provide immediate assistance to those affected. Current Activities Our teams are working hard to bring relief to those affected by February’s devastating earthquakes. With the help of over 155 volunteers, we have worked with local and international organizations to provide immediate relief while also securing longer-term support. In the last month, our team has made some great progress and exciting achievements. We are proud to share the completion of the first Architecture for All (HiM) structure which will be a community center for women and children. We are now working on a second structure for HiM that will be wooden framed buildings used as communal spaces for women. In addition we have designed and built stairs and ramps to make it easier to access WaSH facilities. This had a significant impact, especially as there are many pregnant people residing here. Outside of construction needs, we also support the Turkish Red Crescent (TRC) with sorting and reorganizing donations and with Verenel to support in food preparations. Community engagement initiatives continue to be a high priority for volunteers. They have been running activities with women and children at camps for individuals who have been displaced, including sewing workshops and interactive games.

All Hands and Hearts is in Florida responding to Hurricane Ian’s devastating impacts. Since the start of the response, we have conducted various scopes of work, including felling hazardous trees, removing debris, mucking, gutting and performing mold sanitation to get community members back into their homes. This critical response work continues as we commit to long-term recovery. Disaster Profile Hurricane Ian started as a tropical depression on September 24, 2022, and underwent a rapid intensification, making its first landfall in Cuba as a category 3 hurricane. After intensifying to a category 4 hurricane, it made a second landfall on the west coast of Florida near Fort Myers on September 28, causing devastating impacts to coastal cities and towns along with catastrophic flooding further inland. Ian’s 150 mph winds, storm surge and rainfall caused power outages across the state, damaged infrastructure and overturned cars and boats. After slowly crossing central Florida, the storm exited at Daytona Beach and made another landfall in South Carolina as a category 1 storm.

This summer, we explored the ways we could leverage our disaster-relief experience to support COVID-19 relief activities. Los Angeles County was identified as one potential place in which we could help address critical needs for the community as demands for services were at an all-time high and local volunteer availability was significantly constrained. We launched our Los Angeles COVID-19 Relief Program in October and, working in partnership with LA Regional Food Bank and CORE, we are assembling emergency meal kits, distributing meals to families in need and orchestrating free COVID-19 tests. Our volunteers have already clocked up over 1,200 hours of service. Because of the support we received which made this response possible, our group of 30 volunteers have so far helped feed 57,216 people, and contribute to the completion of more than 29,000 COVID-19 tests. We are so proud of this progress and the incredible impact our team is continuing to make in Los Angeles communities!

In the Fall of 2017, Hurricane Maria’s 155 mph ferocious winds plowed through the island of Puerto Rico, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. “It is the worst natural disaster on record in Puerto Rico, and nearly three months later, the island still does not have power and potable water in many areas. As always, our team worked with local partners to carefully assess the damage and identify communities with the greatest need for help” noted Erik Dyson, C.E.O. of All Hands and Hearts. “Now that the situation on the ground has settled we will be helping the families, in the areas of Yabucoa and Barranquitas, in the cleanup process and to be there alongside them on the long road to recovery.”

Beginning as a tropical storm and fueled by unusually warm Gulf water, Hurricane Harvey made landfall on Friday, 25 August, 2017, as a Category 4 “major” hurricane, with wind speeds of 130 mph. Harvey’s enormous destructive potential comes as a result of strong winds, torrential downpours, significant storm-surges and devastating flooding. Harvey made a total of three landfalls in Texas, damaging or destroying roughly 185,000 homes and impacting millions of people; 42,399 individuals are reported to be living in shelters. Since the initial landfall, the death toll has risen to at least 70 individuals. ALL HANDS VOLUNTEERS AT WORK This is the fourth time that All Hands Volunteers has responded in the Gulf Coast region of Texas in the last two years alone. That makes this response personal for us. Sherry Buresh, our Director of Domestic Response said, “We feel a close connection to the people there because we know so many of them. Our hearts go out to them.” With that, we are quite literally, All Hands on deck. To date, we have received 4,100 volunteer applications. Our volunteer coordination team is processing as quickly as possible to facilitate the maximum number of volunteers. All Hands Volunteers is off and running in Texas in our typical all-in fashion, with multiple teams on the ground. We always seek to meet the greatest need and our teams are determined to help those who cannot help themselves; we are committed to Rebuilding Hope for all. Operating in Fort Bend County, Harris County and Aransas Pass, our teams are knee deep in mucking and gutting, mold sanitation, chainsaw work and debris removal – the first big leaps toward getting families back into their homes. Over 800 families in Texas have registered with FEMA and our work is addressing this overwhelming need at this initial stage. Another team continues to operate the VRC (Volunteer Reception Center) in Aransas Pass, enabling volunteers to effectively plug into the response effort. To date, we have put 1172 volunteers to work through the VRC alone. ONE MONTH RESULTS Total Volunteers: 629 Total Volunteer Days Donated: 2,726 Human Impact (Homeowners + Volunteers): 2,178 Number of Homes Completed*: 114 *Completed=Stage one of the response as determined by the needs of the homeowner. May include mucking and gutting, mold sanitation, chainsaw work and debris removal. A TWO YEAR COMMITMENT TO TEXAS RECOVERY We understand that Texas has a long road ahead and All Hands Volunteers is committed for the long term. We remained in Detroit for 1.5 years, in New York (after Hurricane Sandy) for almost three years and we’re still in Louisiana; one year after the flood. We have committed to be in Texas for at least two years. That’s what it takes to Rebuild Hope for families and communities after a disaster like Hurricane Harvey. So that’s what we do; we stay until the job is done.