House of Hope Creates Disaster Kits with Grant from The Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie

STUART, Fla. – If you live paycheck to paycheck, it’s almost impossible to gather the supplies you’ll need before a hurricane or the resources you’ll need to recover.

 

The House of Hope staff know this story all too well: low income families who go into a hurricane without the ability to stock up on supplies, households who lose precious perishable food when the electricity goes out, hourly workers who can’t get paid because their places of employment are shuttered.

 

Thanks to a designated disaster-relief fund established through The Community Foundation of Martin-St. Lucie, nonprofits like the House of Hope are able to be proactive in providing clients with hurricane-preparedness kits before the storm and responding quickly after it.

 

“Historically, in the middle of the storm, I would be preparing to reach out to our clients and friends to say, ‘Okay, it’s real. The storm hit. We’re going to need to help the frontline organizations really quickly’,” The Community Foundation Martin-St. Lucie CEO Elizabeth Barbella said. “And when the dust settled, we’d be reaching out to organizations asking for some type of simple application and then deploying the resource.”

 

The Local Disaster Relief Fund gives donors an opportunity to set aside funds in advance of a hurricane or other disaster. Their proactive philanthropy gives nonprofits like House of Hope the knowledge that resources will be there when needed.

 

“Now we can plan, knowing we will have the resources in place and ready to go when our clients need them,” House of Hope CEO Rob Ranieri said. “It will make us an effective resource for the lower income community, and it will be almost instant, like flipping a switch.”

 

This summer House of Hope began using funds from the program to assemble 1150 hurricane preparedness kits, including 250 that have additional supplies for those experiencing homelessness. Supplies include non-perishable food, flashlights, batteries, water, tarps, hand sanitizer, manual can opener, garbage bags, a first aid kit, tents, bug spray, and string bags.

 

Without this assistance, most of the organization’s clients wouldn’t be able to stockpile supplies, said House of Hope CEO Rob Ranieri. “It’s a couple hundred bucks they don’t have in their budget.”

 

House of Hope is taking the lead in working with partner agencies in neighboring counties, distributing support to Mustard Seed and GraceWay Village in St. Lucie County and Our Village in Okeechobee County. 

 

“We’re grateful to The Community Foundation and its donors for the incredible foresight to plan ahead and put a structure in place that will greatly benefit the people we serve,” Ranieri said. “The Local Disaster Relief Fund in an ingenious concept and a lifesaver.”

 

To learn more about House of Hope or make a donation, visit House of Hope’s website at www.hohmartin.org or call 772-286-4673.

 

About House of Hope

Founded in 1984, House of Hope is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that empowers Martin County residents to overcome hunger and hardship. House of Hope touches the lives of more than 21,000 people each month, helping with basic needs such as food, clothing, furniture, financial assistance, as well as longer-term case management services that help build life skills for a more self-sufficient future. 

 

The organization has service centers in Stuart, Hobe Sound, Indiantown, and Jensen Beach, with thrift stores in Stuart, Hobe Sound, and Indiantown. House of Hope’s Centers for Enrichment at Golden Gate in Stuart, in Jensen Beach, and at KinDoo Family Center in Indiantown offer free programs, technology, and workshops designed to enhance life skills, earning potential, health, and overall well-being.

 

House of Hope also operates the Growing Hope Farm in Palm City and several nutrition gardens that provide sustainable sources of fresh produce for clients as well as nutrition education and vocational opportunities to the community. For more information, visit hohmartin.org or call 772-286-4673. Updates and announcements can also be found on Facebook, Instagram, and X.