Editor’s Note: Orla Kelleher is the Director of the Aisling Irish Center in New York and this is her heartfelt reaction to what is happening in Rockaway in New York right now in the wake of Hurricane Sandy . Donation and volunteer information is contained at the end of this article.
Fifteen volunteers from the Aisling Irish Center (in The Bronx/Yonkers) went out to Rockaway Beach yesterday to assist with relief efforts after hurricane Sandy. Two truck loads of food, cleaning and other supplies also left here thanks to Liffey Van Lines. One of those trucks had a very recognizable passenger on board - Mr Noel Kilkenny, Consul General of Ireland.
These apartment blocks are in total darkness and isolation – no power, no water, no heat, no access by phone to the outside world, no access to hot meals, no stores open for miles, and no idea when this nightmare will end.
Donations of food and other supplies from people in the community as well as essentials purchased with monies received from The American Ireland Fund have been welcomed with open arms by the residents stranded out there.
(The American Ireland Fund made $100,000 available for disaster relief)
Read more news on Hurricane Sandy here
We will continue to send out volunteers from the Aisling Center on a daily basis and Liffey Van Lines have very kindly committed to transporting supplies to areas of need as long as there is a need.
Bus and car loads of volunteers will leave here on Saturday morning. The main focus right now is going from door to door in various apartment blocks to establish resident’s medical and other needs.
The result of knocking on doors today has been that many residents who refused to leave, or had nowhere to go other than a shelter, had deteriorating health issues and had to be removed by ambulance today.
Had another day passed without one of our volunteers knocking on their doors, the outcome might have been different.
Another way we are helping people is by sourcing accommodation here in Yonkers/Woodlawn for those who have decided to move here after their homes were destroyed by the hurricane. If you know of any apartments (1/2/3 bedroom) for rent, please contact us immediately. www.aislingcenter.org.
5 Comments
-
-
-
-
-
Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.longislander1940 | Nov 09, 2012, 12:22 AM EST
Where's all the help from our new president? No trailers. FEMA is useless. Without friends , and our neighbors and large corporations where would these poor people be.
Tom Mo | Nov 08, 2012, 08:48 PM EST
I spent many a happy summer in Rockaway with my family back in the 60's. We rented for the summer and I used to commute from the City on the weekend. Great memories. As I watched the destruction on television last week I had a lump in my throat. Those misfortunate people, mostly Irish Catholics,were being devastated in front of my eyes. It was beyond belief. But in the news clips that I watched,with a brave reporter,mic in hand, hair blowing in the wind, camera scanning the destruction, I spotted a glimpse of a statue of the the Blessed Virgin standing tall. There was no mention of Her in the newscast and I thought it strange. There was no clear shot of her. There was no mention of Her that I could find, anywhere. Today I received a full photo of the Virgin in tack amid the rubble. There was not a stone upon a stone around Her. That, to me, was a sight to behold. But not a mention of it anywhere in the "News". Irish Central did not mention it. I got the photo from Brian Burch of Catholic Vote.com. I am not a Catholic nut looking for Fatima type attention, or the possibility of a miricle in the midst of a storm, I am just saying that we, as Irish Catholics, and you, as Irish journalists, have lost our way over the years. The fact that the statue of the Blessed Virgin withstood hurricane Sandy without a scratch, deserves attention from the media out of respect. I daresay that if a statue of Muhammad withstood "the howling winds and thrashing sea" you in the media would be all over it.
BrianO | Nov 08, 2012, 12:43 PM EST
What a bunch of cry babies, Obama said that all is well, get over it, just a bunch of bigoted white guys.
JohnKinMD | Nov 08, 2012, 10:02 AM EST
Now the the election is over we will not see any stories about Sandy, it did it's job for Mr O and his backers.
Murph46 | Nov 08, 2012, 09:26 AM EST
If Bush was president ,he'd be vilified!