Joanne and Bill's Story

Turning the Tide Hurricane Sandy relief effort

Sponsored by the New Jersey Unit of ACA International (READ MORE)

Joanne and Bill are an 82 and 70 year old couple from Union Beach.  Bill has had a heart attack and stroke within the last two years. Joanne had a stroke a year and a half ago that kept her in the critical care unit for over three weeks.

When hurricane Sandy hit, they got almost 6 feet of water on their first floor. The whole first floor of their home was completely gutted. They lost their heating system and their hot water heater along with everything else that was on the first floor.

Bill is having a hard time dealing with this. He pretty much has just checked out emotionally. Joanne is having to deal with everything on her own. She is having difficulty understanding the FEMA paperwork and is having a hard time dealing with the insurance company. She is growing very very weary.

They tried living on the second floor of their house but it was too cold for them to live upstairs. They bought a special gas heater and hooked it up where their gas stove used to be,where their kitchen once was, but the bill for that was $300 every two weeks. They decided to put their travel trailer in their driveway and try living in that. It is very very cold in the trailer. They are spending approximately $160 every five days to buy the propane needed to keep it warm. They thought about moving back into the second floor and using electric heaters, since their electric is back on now, however, they believe that since the house is so open with no walls and such, the electric bill would be astronomical. They've also had other expenses to deal with such as four flat tires on their car within the past three months.

Joanne told me that Bill is getting even worse now emotionally. Some days he doesn't even get out of bed. Some days all he says is "I just wish I could get back into my home". Recently when I look into Joanne's eyes, she has that look like she just wants to give up. This is too much for her to deal with all by herself.

To support the New Jersey Unit of ACA International in this relief effort, make your check payable to Calvary Chapel Relief, put "Turning the Tide (MACA)" on the memo portion, and mail to:

Make Check Payable to Calvary Chapel Relief and mail to:

Turning the Tide

c/o Heritage Financial Recovery Services

600 East Crescent Avenue - Suite 304

Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

The Mid-Atlantic Unit will match total MACA-member contributions up to a total of $750. Please be sure to append "Turning the Tide (MACA)" on the memo portion of your check. Donations are tax deductible.