NOC has established a Special Storm Recovery Project to assist families severely impacted by Hurricane Matthew. At present, NOC is helping 13 families (52 people).
Because many of these families lost their homes, NOC is assisting them with 4-8 week temporary accommodations located in safe environments in Hilton Head Island. NOC’s Special Project has also provided cash grants for families to buy food and clothing, and to pay rent in temporary accommodations. Later, when these families are able to return to their homes, NOC will provide further assistance to help them purchase basic furniture.
Several innovative features have made this initiative very effective. First, NOC responded quickly to the immediate needs of these families for lodging. NOC met with each family to determine their needs and then developed solutions that allowed parents to maintain their jobs and keep children in their regular schools. NOC developed a simple framework to assess families’ needs and was able to respond quickly. This framework greatly reduced bureaucracy and transaction costs, and allowed NOC to monitor the status and well-being of families at the ground level.
In addition, NOC partnered with teams from the Mormon Church to help clear storm debris at the Oaks complex. NOC also partnered with local schools to conduct a special session for NOC children, talking to them about their experience with the recent hurricane. This session was important since many of these children went through a traumatic experience dealing with the hurricane. The session was highly successful
To date, NOC has committed more than $15,000 to this project. While this project is not within the bounds of its normal operations, NOC has demonstrated the flexibility needed to respond to an immediate and urgent need. Projects such as this can be replicated to respond to sudden urgent needs because of its rapid response time, low transaction costs, and client focus. NOC listened to the families and developed plans with them, which helped minimize emotional stress. We, as well as the families who have been helped, appreciate generous donations from NOC’S Board of Directors, the Community Foundation of the Lowcountry, and the Heritage Foundation.
