Author: Jim Jones
DHHS volunteers, left to right, Bellal Hossain, Phil Protz and Vedavyas Durbhakula.
Nov. 5, 2018 -- Employees of the NC Department of Health and Human Services have been part of a groundswell of neighbors across our state helping neighbors to recover from the devastating winds that sent trees crashing into homes and torrential rains that left some homes, businesses, parks and highways under water in the aftermaths of Hurricanes Florence on Sept. 14 and Michael on Oct. 11.
While some employees focused on helping victims in and near their own homes, others formed groups that joined larger volunteer opportunities through faith communities and relief organizations.
A team of six DHHS employees based on the Dorothea Dix campus in Raleigh responded to DHHS Secretary Mandy Cohen’s call and traveled to Lumberton on Saturday, Oct. 20, to join the Virginia Beach-based disaster response ministry, Operation Blessing. The team looked forward to making a difference as it deployed to East Lumberton in Robeson County, an area hit for a second time in two years with epic flooding from the nearby Lumber River.
The team set up at East Lumberton Baptist Church, and provided relief services to Lumberton-area families adversely impacted by Hurricane Florence. The DHHS team included Sharon Smith, Division of Services for the Blind; Carlotta Dixon, Division of Social Services; Phil Protz, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services; Bellal Hossain and Vedavys Durbhakula, Information Technology Division; and Tara Myers, Office of the Secretary.
“This was a most humbling and rewarding experience,” said Myers,Deputy Secretary for Human Services. “The opportunity to unite with fellow DHHS employees, as well as the coordinators and other volunteers from Operation Blessing to provide basic assistance, was incredible. The devastation remains present and the needs are still great. I would encourage others to offer their time and talents to our communities still reeling from the lasting effects of Hurricane Florence.”
DHHS volunteers, left to right, Sharon A. Smith, Bellal Hossain, Vedavyas Durbhakula,
Carlotta Dixon and Tara Myers.
Protz said he and the other DHHS team members worked throughout the day “providing practical assistance ranging from stacking wet sandbags, organizing and conducting inventories of supplies and tools, and setting up living quarters for incoming volunteer groups, to removing flood damaged HVAC ductwork and debris from dark and damp crawl spaces for a very appreciative homeowner.”
Demonstrating DHHS values as agency ambassadors, Protz said the teammates “also benefited from a memorable opportunity to get to know each other as direct teammates for the day while meeting the practical needs of the operation and members of the immediate community.”
DHHS volunteer efforts continue. A group of 10 employees also based on the Dorothea Dix campus went to Duplin County on Saturday, Oct. 27, to volunteer with N.C. Baptist Men to rehabilitate a home damaged by flooding in Chinquapin. Their work included the removal of wet drywall, flooring and insulation as well as cleaning up demolition debris. This important step will allow Baptist on Mission to come in and begin rebuilding the home once it airs out.
The team members who volunteered were Trish Farnham, Thomas George and Octavia McPhail, Division of Health Benefits; Sally Lewin and Tanya Saporito, Division of Health Service Regulation; Suzanne Harlow, Division of Social Services; Jeanette McElroy, Division of Vocational Rehabilitation Services; Jennifer Braley, Information Technology Division, Carmen Cole, Office of the Controller; and Barbara Littauer and Jessica Ross, Office of Procurement, Contracts and Grants.
Volunteers continue to serve in hardest hit areas of North Carolina, and opportunities to help may be found through www.nc.gov/volunteer/volunteer-opportunities. Governor Roy Cooper has authorized expansion of the Community Service Leave Policy to allow state employees to use up to 40 hours of CSL for any Florence-related volunteer activity to be used by Dec. 31, 2018.