Long Term Recovery Groups Help New Jersey Sandy Survivors

TRENTON, N.J. — In the wake of Superstorm Sandy, the Federal Emergency Management Agency launched a coordinated effort to establish community-based recovery groups in affected counties of New Jersey.

Long Term Recovery Groups, also known as LTRGs, often become involved when personal resources, insurance and government grants or loans are not sufficient to meet the needs of disaster survivors. LTRGs identify long term recovery needs of individuals and families, utilize community volunteers and assist in determining the best recovery strategies.

There are currently 16 LTRGs established throughout New Jersey and are made up of representatives from different organizations that can provide resources for the long term disaster recovery process.

Community Organizations Active in Disaster (COAD) support the recovery process when LTRGs are not needed in a community. This group organizes and coordinates local community resources in response to the unmet needs of disaster survivors.

The Bergen County organization is one example of a successful LTRG in New Jersey. Recently, they have recently approved $100,000 in unmet needs assistance to be allocated to survivors in their county, granted temporary use of non-residential buildings to house volunteers, as well as continued the food stamp outreach program. This group has also provided 1,325 volunteers who have contributed 15,000 hours of service.

The Long Term Recovery Center in Bergen County provides disaster survivors with access to local resources as well as the opportunity to fill out requests for assistance from Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) member agencies. There are currently more than 55 faith-based, governmental and non-profit organizations contributing to the recovery effort in the county.

LTRGs throughout the state often are made up of friends, neighbors and community leaders who are able to incorporate the values and priorities of their local cultures in their disaster relief efforts. Based

on their involvement in these areas, voluntary agencies are frequently able to identify specific individuals, families or groups that have special needs after a disaster.

To locate additional assistance, Superstorm Sandy survivors in New Jersey can visit www.nj211.org or call 2-1-1 or 1-800-JERSEY7 to locate additional assistance they may need. For more information on the Bergen County LTRG, please visit www.bergenvoad.org.

FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.

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