U.S. DISASTER
RESPONSE
Bringing Hope into Disaster
What does disaster recovery look like?
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Hurricanes, Tornadoes, Floods— when a disaster strikes, our US Disaster Team is ready to respond! As soon we get news of a disaster (or impending disaster) our Disaster Coordinators will reach out to Christian Church and Church of Christ congregations in areas affected to find a partner to work with. Once we have identified who we’re working with, we set up a base camp at our partner church and start bringing in volunteers.
By working with local church leaders who know the community and the people, we’re able to more effectively identify families who need help. Then, we deploy teams of volunteers from all over the US! Whether mucking out basements, sorting through rubble, cutting down fallen trees, moving branches, tarping broken roofs, or cleaning up yards, our volunteers do whatever they can to be the hands and feet of Jesus to families in desperate need.
When possible, we also help with rebuilding efforts: anything from remodeling disaster-affected homes that are repairable to rebuilding new homes that were lost in the disaster. Recovery doesn't stop once the news stories stop, so we'll stick around until we run out of volunteers, funding, or homeowners to help!
When we do finally leave, we hope to leave the local churches with stronger relationships and better preparation to serve their community moving forward.
Logistics for Site Volunteers:
Volunteer deployment trips typically take place from Sunday to Saturday. If you are not able to arrive within the typical time frame, please reach out to either the given point of contact or IDES’ Volunteer Coordinator.
Volunteer groups will have work provided Monday through Friday, with exceptions made for weather. An IDES partnering church will provide housing for volunteers, but personal bedding will need to be provided.
After the work week (M-F), volunteer groups will be free to leave on Friday. However, housing will be provided until 9:00 am on Saturday.
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Click to learn more about our current volunteer needs on US Disaster Sites
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Sheds as Disaster Relief
Why Sheds?
After the initial clean up and recovery, it still might take families months to begin repairing or rebuilding their homes. In the meantime, any belongings they managed to recover have to be shoved into the garages of friends and family, stored in expensive storage containers, or, at worst, left exposed to the elements and looters.
During the recovery from Hurricane Katrina, we realized the severity of this need and came up with a solution. Volunteers pre-assemble shed components at our headquarters in Noblesville, IN. Then, when disaster strikes, we’re able to quickly ship and build sheds, providing homeowners with safe places to store their belongings.
Recovery from a disaster is always a slow process. But sheds can give homeowners a sense of safety and security as they start to put their lives back together.
How You Can Participate
After the first phase of our disaster response, IDES will work with local churches to assess if more needs to be done which could include home damage repair, home builds, and sheds. To volunteer on a disaster site,
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You can also connect with our Volunteer Coordinator and disaster staff to learn more about how to get plugged in and what the logistics of these projects might look like for your group!
IDES restored my faith in the Church, big C.
-Rusty Russell, Pastor at New Day CC talking about Hurricane Ian.