JERSEY SHORE UNITED
PROGRAMS
HOPE IN THE HOMESTRETCH
Begin with the End in Mind by Stephen Covey
Jersey Shore United started its Hope in the Homestretch back in 2013 when Barry and Angela Moll lost everything they owned in Hurricane Sandy. They saw the struggle of most families as they ran out of support and funding and were unable to restore their home totally and move back in.
Families started to realize it took multiple years in many cases and most of the larger organizations left in under one year. JSU stepped up and explored the possibility of only taking families that JSU could get back home, like move-in furniture back home. At that point, Hope in the Homestretch was born.
JSU did not take on projects if we could not move families back into their homes. This method didn’t work 100% of the time, but we were batting about 90% and felt in our heart we were the only organization to step up and own this part of the process.
The end was the most challenging, expensive, and the toughest to get volunteers. Most disaster volunteers run off to the next disaster way before the families they helped move home. It is also the toughest program to build long-term donors. We stay local and long-term, and it is painfully slow at times. Most donors don’t stick it out.
There is a God-given heart to support this ministry to the end. It takes time, a lot of time, so much time most donors would rather send their money to the ones that need help right at the time of a disaster.
We call it the “big cry.” You see people all over the news crying and begging for help. That is where most folks send their money. They do not see the same families a year later, desperate for help as they lose their home and jobs. Older children even quit school because the families do not have the money to pay rent and a mortgage at the same time. They abandon the home and must move. The money given to them was a waste because it did not get them back home; it just delayed the inevitable. Jersey Shore United does our best to continue supporting until . . .
To get more information or to support this God-breathed program, click here and fill out the form.
OPERATION HOPE CHEST
Operation Hope Chest is a disaster recovery support program. After families have lost their homes, they must often move into temporary housing, a trailer, apartment, or rental home, for what can be long periods of time.
Operation Hope Chest supplies everything a family will need for “night one” to take the sting away. Often families don’t realize the cost of setting up a new home with just the basics, so it catches them off guard. The “Hope” Chest allows a family of four to make a bed, take a shower, and make a meal on the first night.
Packed in a 73-gallon deck box, the 42 items a family will receive will make the beds (sheets, pillows, blankets), allow the family to take a shower (shower rod, curtain, shower curtain rings, towels), and make a meal (dishes, pots and pans, glasses, a toaster, a coffee machine, silverware, etc.). JSU also includes a $50 Walmart gift card for things like toilet paper and milk the first night.
***This program is not applicable to hotel stays or staying with families, as the items in the hope chest will either not be needed or are already available.
THE UNSHELTERED CHRISTIAN TEEN
We train teens and young people ages 15-20 years old to serve in local disaster. Participants will learn all of the skills needed to fully restore a home that has been impacted by a natural disaster. This includes hand tools and, depending on the age, power tools in all areas of the trades.
