ShelterBox responds to Hurricane Harvey

Feb. 1, 2018 – To support the unmet shelter and housing needs of people affected by Hurricane Harvey, which damaged more than 200,000 homes in Texas last August, disaster relief nonprofit ShelterBox USA provided a $250,000 grant to the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund (HHRF).

ShelterBox’s mission is to ensure no family is without shelter after a disaster

“ShelterBox’s mission is to ensure no family is without shelter after a disaster,” said Kerri Murray, President of ShelterBox USA. “Even though Hurricane Harvey and its devastating impacts on Texas have long been removed from the news headlines, so many communities are still struggling to recover.”

With its most recent round of grants, HHRF is assisting vulnerable families on a range of basic needs including: home repair; assistance with temporary housing; help with furniture, appliances, and basic household items; and help building a recovery plan.

 

 

“ShelterBox USA recognizes that local community-based organizations in Texas continue to work at the forefront of helping residents repair their lives,” said Murray. “We are pleased to be able to support the Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund and are committed to supporting the shelter and housing needs of families displaced by Hurricane Harvey.”

The HHRF is focused on immediate, medium, and long-term relief efforts in Harris County and Houston. It was set up by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner and Harris County Judge Ed Emmett. This Fund is dedicated to filling the gaps that are not met by other local and federal efforts.

The Greater Houston Community Foundation (GHCF) oversees and administers the grant distribution process for the HHRF. They do not charge any fees, ensuring 100 percent of the donations go to relief efforts. More than 125,000 donors have contributed more than $112 million dollars to HHRF.

“We are humbled by your support and the genuine caring and compassion of people in and out of our community, whose generosity has and will always be the backbone of our city, state and nation,” said Stephen Maislin, President and CEO of the GHCF. “Thank you for being a part of helping our community survive, begin to rebuild, and ultimately to thrive.”

Immediately after Hurricane Harvey, ShelterBox USA deployed aid in the form of tents, blankets, groundsheets, school kits, and solar lamps. The tents were used as a shelter-in-a-shelter to provide privacy for evacuees who were staying at large shelter sites, allowing for medical treatment, lactation spaces, childcare, places of worship and more.

To help distribute the aid, ShelterBox USA deployed a team of highly trained ShelterBox Response Team members after the storm, including Bruce Heller, who lives in Dallas.

Even now, nearly six-months since Hurricane Harvey made landfall, many people are still struggling

“As a Rotarian and a ShelterBox Response Team Member, I have responded to many disasters around the world, but never thought I would see that same destruction right here at home,” said Heller. “I was privileged to be able to respond in my home state of Texas, where so many families literally had to restart their lives. Even now, nearly six-months since Hurricane Harvey made landfall, many people are still struggling, and ShelterBox USA felt it was critical to help the shelter needs and ongoing recovery efforts by supporting the HHRF.”

 

To learn more about ShelterBox USA’s response to Hurricane Harvey, visit this link.

To learn more about the HHRF grant distributions, click here.

 

ShelterBox is currently responding in the Philippines following tropical storms, Madagascar in the aftermath of Cyclone Ava, the Caribbean following Hurricanes Irma and Maria, Bangladesh following flooding in the north and the Rohingya refugee crisis in the south, and Somaliland where people are displaced by drought. The organization is also providing aid to people displaced by conflict situations in Syria, Iraq, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.