Mennonite Disaster Service

The Tierra de Esperanza subdivision came to life after Hurricane Harvey displaced many families in 2017. Tierra de Esperanza’s homes are for the Hurricane Harvey survivors who lacked sustainable housing. South Texas Catholic https://www.southtexascatholic.com//tierra-de-esperanza-a-

Mennonite Disaster Service and Disaster Aid Ohio were invited by Victoria County Long-Term Recovery Group, Victoria, Texas, to help build the Hope Meadows subdivision, a community for families who lost their homes to 2017's Hurricane Harvey. https://youtu.be/SqrHuD-WBEo

Thank you Mennonite Central Committee - MCC!

MDS and Disaster Aid Ohio, in partnership with the Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group dedicated the last 13 homes in the Tierra de Esperanza, or Land of Hope, community in Woodsboro, Texas, on May 20, bringing to completion a three-year unprecedented effort. Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group https://mds.mennonite.net/tierra-de-esperanza-opens-doors-/

Have you read your copy of the Spring Behind the Hammer issue yet?! You can get your hands on the next one here! https://mds.mennonite.net/stay-connected/

MDS and the Brethren Church have formalized a partnership together, exciting Jean Anderson, an MDS volunteer, and many other Brethren Church members. Serving with MDS is the perfect place for the Brethren church to be, said Anderson, 70, who has served with MDS with her husband, Duane, since 2018. https://mds.mennonite.net/mennonite-disaster-service-breth/

Part 2 of a six-part series on how Mennonite Disaster Service puts a project together. To initiate any response, MDS must have "four pillars" in place - meaningful work, volunteers, funding and accommodations. https://youtu.be/LfgqJibzkdM

This past Thursday, MDS wrapped up its multi-year long response to Hurricane Harvey. The last 10 homes were dedicated in the Tierra de Esperanza, or Land of Hope". Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group https://mds.mennonite.net/more-than-three-years-after-hurr/

Even after living in her new home for two months, Willie Green still likes to walk up and down her hallway. Never in my life have I had a hallway to walk down, she says. I’ve never lived in a house big enough to have a hallway. https://mds.mennonite.net/a-hallway-and-a-house-key-what-h/

Lauren Collins, mother of three, takes a moment to breathe in her new home. She’s in her place of peaceher new home, built by volunteers from Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS). https://mds.mennonite.net/mother-of-three-finds-a-place-sh/

Evelyn Peters-Rojas, who worked mostly in the area of volunteer coordination for MDS Canada, and has helped MDS mature, is stepping down after fifteen years. We asked her a few questions! https://mds.mennonite.net/leaving-mds-with-a-grateful-heart/

Learn how MDS puts a project together after disaster strikes, featuring local MDS Units, Emergency Response Teams (ERTs) and Church Contact Persons (CCPs). https://youtu.be/EXBC-82Oe88

Hope Meadows, a 40-house subdivision, was built for Victoria County residents in need of safe, secure housing after Hurricane Harvey. Until now, the house that came with the property has been used as an office and headquarters for volunteer organizations that built the Hope Meadows houses including Disaster Aid Ohio and the Mennonite Disaster Service. The Victoria Advocate Commissioner Danny Garcia said the building will continue to serve members of these volunteer organizations that come to Bloomington to work after disasters. https://www.victoriaadvocate.com//article_92940190-1568-11

As Hurricane Laura ripped through Cameron, Louisiana in late August, homes built by Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) volunteers stood up well to the storm’s pun...ishing 150-mph winds. Then Hurricane Delta hit the same area in mid-October, six weeks after Laura. MDS has a long history of helping residents in the Cameron area. Of the 27 homes MDS built from 2007-2012, only three were destroyed in the latest round of hurricanes. (MDS is a Virginia Mennonite Conference Endorsed Ministry.) https://mds.mennonite.net/homes-built-by-mds-withstand-hur/ See more

Lititz, PA - Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) has welcomed Michele WhiteEagle as the new Region 4 board chair. The region includes Arizona, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, as well as Alaska and Hawaii. WhiteEagle is MDS’s first female regional board chair. After spending most of her childhood in Bakersfield, California, she lived in Washington State before settling with her husband in Kamiah, Idaho. WhiteEagle first learned about MDS in 2015, when a large wildfire struck Kamiah. Clearwater Tribune https://www.clearwatertribune.com//article_1e42ba68-1944-1

MARIANNA, Fla. (WMBB) The North Florida Inland Long Term Recovery Group has been working to provide relief to Hurricane Michael survivors in Jackson and Calhoun counties. Two years later, the group is still helping families recover. WMBB-TV https://www.mypanhandle.com//calhoun-county-family-rebui/

MDS has an urgent need for volunteers to serve in Jennings, Louisiana in November. Volunteers will be responding to Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta, focusing on cleanup work. Learn more and request to volunteer by calling 800-241-8111 or visiting https://mds.mennonite.net/jennings-la/

Thank you World Renew - Disaster Response Services!

The October edition of On the Level is now available from Mennonite Disaster Service. In our current issue, you can read how homes built by MDS have weathered recent hurricanes in Louisiana and Texas, MDS Canada builds it’s first house during the pandemic and we are now accepting volunteers for fall and winter projects. Click on this link to read more: https://conta.cc/35fEZZQ

Happy to partner with the Methodists and WVVOAD in bringing one more family back home.

Wonderful WVUMC Disaster 2016: A New Vision with Hope!

This summer, 46 congregations in Canada received money from the MDS Canada Spirit of MDS Fund to help them serve their communities during the pandemic. Funds were used for things like food, rent, personal protective equipment, to help seniors connect with their families, and to help people attend church services, among other things. Here is one of those stories. At River East Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation in Winnipeg, Manitoba, the main needs it wanted to help meet during the pandemic was for groceries for vulnerable youth and to support a neighbourhood school breakfast program. https://mds.mennonite.net/mds-canada-spirit-of-mds-story/

WOODSBORO The next step in plans to build a new subdivision in Woodsboro to replace homes damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Harvey took place on Sept. 23 with a groundbreaking on the property where the houses will soon be built. The project is a joint venture involving several organizations, including the Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group, Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi, Disaster Aid of Ohio, Mennonite Disaster Service, @rebuildtexas, the Refugio County Community Development Foundation, Week of Compassion, the town of Woodsboro and the Food Bank of the Golden Crescent. https://www.mysoutex.com//article_06a1e844-012e-11eb-b8f7-

Fifteen years ago, if there were three or four major disasters for Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS) to respond to, that was considered a very busy year. Today, that number has tripled or even quadrupled says executive director Kevin King. We have seen a noticeable increase, he says, noting a reason for the growing number of disasters is climate change. And not only that, he says; the disasters are more intense and extremethings like wildfires in the Pacific northwest, wi...ndstorms in the Midwest, drought in various parts of the U.S., and the hurricanes battering the Gulf Coast as examples. https://mds.mennonite.net/shifting-climate-and-mennonite-d/ See more

Collecting silage donations for farmers in need. https://mds.mennonite.net/donate/donate-form/

Coastal Bend Disaster Recovery Group, along with its many partners, broke ground on Tierra de Esperanza (Land of Hope) on Sept. 23. Twenty-three new homes will soon be built on this 3.6-acre lot in Woodsboro, a small town, in Refugio County. Volunteers from Disaster Aid of Ohio and Mennonite Disaster Service will build the houses. Amish and Mennonites alike are committed to these two non profit organizations and will volunteer their time and talent for two weeks at a time until the work is complete, hopefully sometime in April of 2021. https://mds.mennonite.net/ground-breaks-for-land-of-hope/