One year after Hurricane Ida made landfall in New Jersey, we brought together Ida survivors from across the state who are still struggling to rebuild and return home. We first gathered in Manville at the still-damaged home of our member Yaritza, and came together in fellowship and community, calling out the broken disaster recovery system that got us all here. Both the Mayor Onderko of Manville and Assemblywoman Jaffer’s Chief of Staff stood with us, as well as survivors and neighbors from across Manville.

 

The Manville event built up to another online event the following Wednesday. Joined by Representatives Tom Malinowski, Bonnie Watson-Coleman, and staffers from Representatives Frank Pallone and Josh Gottheimer’s offices, we shared our stories and identified the main solutions we need for both immediate and long-term recovery.

 

We told the Congresspeople that we need federal Ida funding to get to Ida survivors soon, cover all Ida need, and that flood insurance should not be a disqualifying factor. The DCA has stated that the $228 million allocated to New Jersey’s Ida recovery will only cover 60% of need. And that’s only once this funding reaches survivors, which may not happen until almost two years after the storm. Flood survivors need a recovery system that works with them – not against them.

 

Superstorm Sandy survivors also stood alongside Ida survivors to share their support – as put by Sandy survivor and longtime NJOP member Chuck Griffin, “We don’t have every answer but we know where to go to get your answers.” That’s the people power we’re building – Ida strong, and Sandy strong.