Local communities reach deep, reach out and rebuild

From ENS-

In a year of extraordinary natural disasters – tornadoes, fires, floods and earthquakes – Episcopalians are reaching out nationally and internationally through prayer, financial assistance and “boots on the ground” relief, recovery and rebuilding efforts, and are forging creative partnerships in the process.

After a string of deadly late April tornadoes shredded most of the affordable housing in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, three Episcopal churches there formed a cooperative to rebuild, partnered with Habitat for Humanity, and on Dec. 1 broke ground on the first home.

“There was a shortage of affordable housing even before the tornadoes” which killed more than 40 people and damaged or destroyed more than 7,000 homes in Tuscaloosa alone, according to the Rev. Kelley Hudlow, chair of the board of the Episcopal Tornado Recovery Cooperative (ETRC).

The ETRC also has partnered with the Diocese of Alabama and Episcopal Relief & Development, which supplied grants for a disaster case manager, a construction project manager and building materials, in what Hudlow describes as a long-term recovery effort.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/01/03/local-communities-reach-deep-reach-out-and-rebuild/