On October 29, 2021, Somerset and Dorchester counties experienced Maryland’s worst tidal flooding in 50 years — in many places, water levels were at or higher than Hurricane Sandy (2012). This kind of massive flooding creates immediate and long-term health threats to flood survivors and to their homes.

The influx of bay water carried contaminants and wreaked havoc on plumbing and electrical systems, and left homes susceptible to the growth of mold and mildew.

The 2021 storm was unnamed and undeclared by federal agencies, and received minimal media coverage. Few people knew the storm even happened, let alone the resources and networks needed to help survivors move toward recovery. But the Eastern Shore Long-Term Recovery Committee was there. Having formed after Hurricane Sandy, the ESLTRC was able to stand back up quickly when needed in 2021.

In Spring 2024, after local long-term recovery efforts had completed a Phase One project of rebuilding 10 destroyed homes, Week of Compassion entered into a new partnership with the Eastern Shore Long-Term Recovery Committee. This partnership agreement provides salary support for the ESLTRC Disaster Recovery Coordinator as they move into Phase Two operations: a tidal flood recovery and mitigation project, aiming to elevate 100 homes that flooded in 2021 and are at risk of repeat flooding in Somerset and Dorchester Counties. 

Two of the poorest counties in the state of Maryland, Dorchester and Somerset residents live primarily in HUD-owned public housing; almost half the population of Crisfield MD (Somerset Co) lives in supported housing units. In response to this need, the ESLTRC added a third component to their work - partnering with the city of Crisfield to build new affordable homes on previously abandoned lots.

This intersection of socioeconomic status and climate vulnerability is where the resources and creativity of Week of Compassion and our partners meet. Coming alongside climate-vulnerable communities like the Eastern Shore is a significant shared priority among ecumenical partners and local leaders.

Week of Compassion’s Associate Director for Domestic Disaster Response, Rev. Caroline Hamilton-Arnold, visited partners and program sites in October 2024, to see first-hand the innovative response of local leaders and funding partners.

Following the first phase of home rebuilding, the ESLTRC has imagined new ways to respond to survivor families seeking help. The intention is to make homes healthy and safe, to “reduce the risk of repetitive damage, provide better stewardship of funding entrusted to us, and improve the quality of life for surviving families. ...

Last year, Maryland VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), which oversees the Eastern Shore Long Term Recovery, learned that they had been nominated for - and won! - the National VOAD Innovative Program of the Year Award!

In discussing the scope of a project like this, Pastor Phil Huber, Maryland VOAD chair and coordinator of agencies and supervisor of staff for the ESLTRC noted, “Many funders restrict their funding to purchasing materials. Yet, to be good stewards of the funding they have provided, there are administrative costs — salary for staff to do case management and construction management and print cartridges and computers to generate mandatory reporting on the funding that was given.”