Walking Alongside: The Story of ARDF Domestic Disaster Response Relief
This article first appeared on the ARDF blog on Dec. 4, 2024. Thank you to everyone in the Diocese for responding so generously to disaster relief this year. ARDF just released this video with more information about the ACNA response to Hurricane Helene, you’ll hear and see about the response from DOMA in it! Well done!
“This is exactly how the Domestic Disaster Response Network is supposed to work. Moving supplies where they are needed. ACNA churches are affected but also responding. They are turning into places where people can come for help.” - Brian Stewart, ARDF Director of Domestic Disaster Response
Hurricane Harvey (2017) happened over 7 years ago, but we at ARDF remember it well. This category 4 hurricane caused catastrophic flooding and displaced more than 30,000 people in TX and LA - becoming the catalyst for Anglicans all over the country to help survivors of natural disasters through our Domestic Disaster Response Network.
Saying “Yes.”
After the storm, ARDF received an unprecedented $330,000 and called upon the Anglican Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast to prayerfully steward the distribution of these gifts. Those early relief efforts are full of stories that clearly mark God’s incarnational presence amidst hardship. Deacon Shelly Sorem, asked to be part of a discernment team to help disperse funding, shares how “that little saying ‘yes’ changed my life.” She has stories of taking single mothers for grocery runs, filling empty cupboards in temporary housing while hearing how these mothers were previously afraid of having no food for their children. She shares of those who were struggling before the storm even hit, and how Harvey Relief Efforts allowed for help with medical bills. “ARDF provided the funds so that we can sit in the mess and we can walk through the mess,” explains Deacon Shelly. “That’s what you do in the body of Christ - we walk together through the good, the bad, and the ugly.”
This act of walking alongside survivors didn’t end with Hurricane Harvey. ARDF continued supporting Anglicans in aiding their neighbors during times of distress until in 2020, Archbishop Foley approached ARDF about starting a disaster response program for the ACNA.
ARDF has sent several teams to help in Rolling Fork, MS after the 2023 tornado.
A Growing Community
ARDF turned again to the Diocese of the Western Gulf Coast, along with the Diocese of South Carolina, to pilot the program. ARDF formed the “National Disaster Response Network” under the guidance of Tommy Lamb and with the goal of providing materials to help churches navigate stages of disaster response. Continually looking and reaching outwards, Tommy developed relationships with many partner organizations and gathered a group of core volunteers and consultants, helping the network grow in healthy and sustainable ways.
ARDF officially launched the “Domestic Disaster Response Network” in 2022, creating a network of disaster response coordinators at the parish and diocesan levels and including spiritual care coordinators - of which Deacon Shelly Sorem is one. Earlier this year ARDF welcomed Brian Stewart as the Director of Domestic Disaster Response upon Tommy’s retirement, and our vision keeps growing as new opportunities open up. Walking alongside survivors has grown from churches helping their immediate neighbors to churches and volunteers traveling to assist other communities in need.
St. Andrews in Douglas, GA handed out free supplies after the storm.
Affected But Also Responding
Before Hurricane Helene made landfall, St. Andrews in Douglas, GA, was prepared to help St. Peter's in Tallahassee FL when the storm was predicted to hit their area in FL. Three hours apart, the two churches had established a good relationship, and the little church in GA told St. Peter's that they would be ready to take anyone who needed shelter. When the storm's path shifted though, St. Andrew's found itself hit hard by the storm instead.
St. Andrew's received the support they were willing to give! Within days a truckload of supplies was delivered to the Douglas church, and cleanup crews came to help clear debris from parishioner’s homes. St. Andrew's opened its doors to their own community to distribute relief supplies brought in by others, and continues to minister to their surrounding community after the storm.
Other churches sent and received help also! In North Caroline alone ARDF worked with eight churches immediately surrounding Asheville. Volunteers are now serving the affected areas through Domestic Disaster Response Mission Trips, and we are honored to walk alongside these communities in their long-term recovery.
“This is exactly how the Domestic Disaster Response Network is supposed to work. Moving supplies where they are needed. ACNA churches are affected but also responding. They are turning into places where people can come for help.” - Brian Stewart, ARDF Director of Domestic Disaster Response
To date, ARDF has participated in a total of 15 Disaster Response Mission Trips, mobilizing over 150 volunteers to build houses, clean up debris, and serve communities with the relational ministry of presence. In some cases, recipients of new homes are dependent upon the generosity of people who volunteer their time to finish construction. In other instances, survivors share their stories with volunteers, beginning the lengthy process of emotional healing through recounting their experiences. In every case, the transformative love of Christ is shared by those willing to say “yes” as Deacon Shelly did so many years ago.