No More Sequels!!
Yesterday I headed to Shoprite to stock up before the rain and wind (Maybe only Shoprite is more polarizing than the Jets, Giants or Eagles?). As I wandered down the too-crowded aisles, I thought, man, September was something. Watching Fiona hit Puerto Rico on almost the exact anniversary of Maria. Seeing Ian make its way across Florida, into the Carolinas and up here. And here we are, watching the storm roll in a month away from the Sandy Anniversary.
On this 10th anniversary of the storm - I’m 100% clear - no more sequels. I wish I was magic, or a superhero, or superhuman or something. If I were, there would be no more severe storms and no one I love would have to go through this ever again. I know this is something we all wish for. And yet, here we are, with worse storms more often.
There’s one thing we actually can make happen with our regular human superpower of standing together and being bigger than we are alone: we can create a disaster recovery system THAT WORKS. Because what we’ve got right now is not cutting it. Not. Even. Close. Making the system work would be a big deal. It would help millions of people in New Jersey and around the country rebuild, prepare, and recover - truly recover.
And so, on October 29, 2022 for our TENTH SANDYVERSARY EVENT (no more sequels please), we’re bringing storm survivors from New York, Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and Puerto Rico to stand together to say enough is enough. When the editors at USA Today wrote about the Ida recovery work we’re doing, they said, “A decade after Hurricane Sandy ravaged the region and nearly 15 years since Hurricane Katrina brutalized New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, federal officials still don't have a responsive and speedy approach to helping those in need with relief.”
We could not agree more. Because we have fought together, more families have made it through the broken disaster recovery system since Sandy than would have if we hadn’t acted. But it is gut-wrenching to watch new storm survivors start from the very beginning of a game that is set up for them to lose, state after state, storm after storm. And all the while, some Sandy survivors are still struggling to get home, or struggling with clawbacks.
As one of our storm organizing team members, Noreen, says “We are Sandy strong, we are Ida strong.” And this October, we’re Maria strong, Fiona strong, Katrina strong, and Harvey strong too. Imagine the superpowers of disaster survivors from many disasters, and many states standing together.
I’m imagining it. It’s pretty awesome. Let’s make it a reality. Register here to join us on 10/29 and to get more details - we’d love to see you there.
Until then,
Amanda Devecka-Rinear for New Jersey Organizing Project
P.S. - ICYMI, the first anniversary of Ida was powerful. NJOP was front and center in the news about the anniversary, we brought our demands before elected officials and the DCA, and we got commitments from Reps. Malinowski and Watson-Coleman to support survivors and the changes we’re calling for from FEMA and Congress. Ida survivors deserve better - we need action for rental assistance and mortgage protection now.
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