My Experience Volunteering

It took a while, I used the usual excuses. You know, the easy ones like "I couldn't find anything," or "It seemed like they didn't need any more people." These are the easiest ways to avoid volunteering, and I used them all. I've spent the past week cleaning out flooded houses and helping affected homeowners return to a version of normal. Only after doing this did I realize how silly my excuses were in the first place.

I spent yesterday out in Far Rockaway, an area previously known to me as a summer beach destination, a working class neighborhood with a beautiful boardwalk. This time, however I didn't see much of the beach.

Americorps/Team Rubicon and New York Cares have established an aggressive, well organized ground team dedicated to helping people in the area. There is a shuttle service from lower Manhattan, and volunteers may either help with food distribution or assisting residents, many of which have lost everything, and are still living without heat, water or power.

My team spent the day at a fisherman's property. His boat had been lifted by the water and wedged into the side of the house, blocking the entrance. His possessions were organized in piles amidst the dirt of the front yard. The storm had destroyed the house, which needed a complete gutting. We spent the day ripping out ceilings, walls and removing appliances. The remains of the man's house were dumped unceremoniously on the side of the road. There has been so much to clean up lately that the sanitation trucks have been operating with plows, instead of picking up bags. He plans to move into the shed adjacent to the house after installing a small space heater and a floor.

Despite all of the physical destruction, the most striking experience of the day was listening to the fisherman speak about the financial troubles facing the community as a whole. The federal and city government have been quick to disperse aid, (provided that the residents have Internet and phone access, which many do not.) The scale of the disaster, however cannot simply be measured in flooded basements and wrecked ceilings. While much of New York has moved on in their lives from Sandy, the residents of Far Rockaway simply cannot. As the fisherman reminded me yesterday, it will be a considerable amount of time before residents can return to work and earn any money. He could fish, but lacks the customers to buy the catch.

We cannot fix the financial troubles of the Rockaways, but we can commit our time and energy to helping residents, many of whom have lost everything. I cannot possibly overstate the need for volunteers.

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