May 3, 2013: Today the Hurricane Sandy NJ Relief Fund announced $4.18 million for 19 new grants, including the largest grant to date: a $1.5 million award to rebuild homes in Union Beach, a Bayshore community where 85% of homes sustained damage. Princeton Area Community Foundation will serve as the fiscal agent for the Borough of Union Beach, which will administer the grant.
“This week marks the six month anniversary of Sandy’s destruction along our coast and in mainland communities around New Jersey. Many people have moved on with their daily lives over the last six months, but for so many hit hardest by the storm, it’s been like October 30th every day since,” said First Lady Mary Pat Christie, Chair of the Fund. “These grants again signal our long-term commitment to rebuilding, and demonstrate to victims that they will not be forgotten. There is so much work left to do, but I am so proud of the generosity of donors who have made this latest announcement possible, along with the endless number of organizations and volunteers who are out on the front lines rebuilding, comforting and aiding those still in need every single day.”
“Every day we have residents still in tears. It’s been six months and they are desperate to get back in their homes. Over 200 homes, along with all the homeowners’ belongings, have been destroyed or lost forever. To be able to help eleven more homeowners return to a level of normalcy brings such hope to this community,” said Jennifer Maier, Borough Administrator of Union Beach. “This is not a job to us. It is a personal commitment to do whatever we can to help the residents rebuild their lives. We are equally committed to rebuilding smart by using energy efficient and environmentally friendly building practices that will help homeowners and can serve as a model for other communities. The Fund’s trust and belief in us, and its commitment to this project, is such a boost in this daily fight to get our residents back in their homes. Mary Pat Christie, the Fund’s leadership and its tens of thousands of donors have answered our call for help and we are so grateful and humbled by their support.”
April 30th HSNJRF Grant Awards
Atlantic City LTRG – Sandy Relief – $500,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Atlantic County
Description: Hire construction specialist and provide unmet needs/housing assistance to help 300 clients return to homes in the next 12 months; work closely with Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders.
Atlantic City Rescue Mission – Hurricane Sandy Emergency Shelter – $50,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Atlantic County
Description: Help house and feed 370 displaced people with short-term transitional housing.
Big Brothers Big Sisters of Ocean County, Inc. – Support to Families Affected by Hurricane Sandy – $100,000
Social Services
Serving Ocean County
Description: Improve accessibility of case management to BBBS families by relocating to Toms River, and expand school based mentoring program for children attending Elementary School in Seaside Heights and transitioning to the middle school.
Caregiver Volunteers of Central Jersey – Caregivers Easing Hunger – $20,000
Social Services
Serving Ocean County
Description: Provide groceries two times per month for 8 months to 50 homebound elderly in Toms River; support recruitment of 100 new volunteers and two computers to order groceries and have them delivered.
Catholic Charities, Diocese of Trenton – Hurricane Sandy Project – $400,000
Social Services and Housing
Serving Ocean County
Description: Utilize $250,000 to assist 125 families with housing assistance including mortgage and rental assistance, minor repairs and temporary housing. Funding will also separately hire a therapist and case manager to provide domestic violence counseling, servicing an estimated 500 additional clients.
Catholic Family & Community Services – Hurricane Sandy Long Term Case Management – $30,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Passaic, Morris and Sussex
Description: Contact FEMA registrants with over $1,000 in property damage to provide direct financial assistance to vendors on behalf of clients who do not have the ability to pay to rebuild or repair their homes.
Community YMCA – Intensive In-Community Therapeutic Services – $148,000
Social Services
Serving Monmouth County
Description: Client centered community-based free therapeutic services to children and families in need of mental and behavioral healthcare due to Sandy, supporting 50 clients from referring partner organizations across Monmouth County.
First Baptist Church of Manasquan – Upgrading to Serve Our Community – $10,000
Volunteer Housing
Serving Monmouth County
Description: Help build 2-3 showers, purchase bunk beds and install kitchen sinks to accommodate volunteers traveling to help with community rebuilding projects; facilities will be able to host up to 30 people per week, with work teams set to arrive in June in support of Coastal Habitat for Humanity.
Fuller Center Disaster Rebuilders – Hurricane Sandy Rebuild – $450,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Atlantic County
Description: Safely restore 200 homes to prestorm or better conditions, supporting low-income clients still living in damaged homes with serious safety or health concerns; streamline 5-7,000 volunteers to donate time in New Jersey.
Gateway Church of Christ – Resurrect the Bayshore – $50,000
Volunteer Housing
Serving Monmouth County
Description: Funding for case manager to connect volunteer work crews with homeowners in need; to expand beyond the case management provided for Union Beach, into Keansburg and Highlands.
HABcore, Inc. – Affordable Living for Special Needs Clients – $100,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Ocean County
Description: Provide 8 permanent, supportive rental apartments in Beachwood; serving low-income, homeless households with special needs; case management and counseling services.
Habitat for Humanity of Trenton – Sandy Relief Food Pantry – $15,000
Social Services
Serving Mercer County
Description: Expand the amount of food distributed by 15% to help displaced Sandy victims who have relocated to Trenton area, and keep the pantry open an additional day per week to alleviate hunger.
Jersey Cares – Superstorm Sandy Recovery Efforts – $75,000
Volunteer Services
Serving Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Monmouth and Ocean Counties
Description: Complete 800 projects utilizing 4500 volunteers completing over 16,000 service hours, including home repair, donation distribution, debris removal, and other Sandy related projects.
Jewish Family Service of Atlantic County – Operation Sandy Relief – $55,500
Social Services
Serving Atlantic and Cape May Counties
Description: Hire bilingual staff position to expand JFS’s capacity and manage increasing number of referrals, offer counseling and connect people with proper services and assistance programs.
Lutheran Social Ministries of NJ – LSM/NJ Disaster Recovery – $200,000
Volunteer Services
Servicing Hudson, Union, Monmouth and Ocean
Description: Support three disaster recovery coordinator positions who will manage 100 volunteer work groups over the next 12 months, resulting in an estimated 10,000 volunteer hours supporting Sandy rebuilding and recovery efforts.
Princeton Area Community Foundation – Rebuilding Union Beach – $1,500,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Monmouth County
Description: Provide gap funding for 11 prefabricated homes in cooperation with the Borough of Union Beach, utilizing prototyping process developed for 4 Union Beach families via a previous Robin Hood Foundation grant.
Salvation Army – Hurricane Sandy Long Term Recovery Program – $400,000
Social Service
Statewide Service
Description: $150,000 will support 3 case managers, 1 social worker, and 1 long term recovery coordinator; $250,000 will help support and expand existing activities such as home appliance/furniture replacement, housing and utility assistance, counseling and volunteer coordination and lodging. Services targeted primarily at Monmouth, Ocean and Atlantic counties and are expected to help 2400 people.
St. Francis Community Center, LBICC – Sandy Relief Program – $64,000
Housing Assistance
Serving Ocean County
Description: Provide funding to low-income and working poor for mortgage and rental assistance, utility assistance and replacement of furniture and major appliances lost during the storm.
St. Mary’s By the Sea – Mary’s Table – $14,000
Social Service
Serving Ocean County
Description: To continue providing meals to the community, beyond the 8500 meals they have provided since November 1st; will update refrigeration and kitchen to maintain services for the local food pantry and those in need, living in nearby motels.
