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NJ church provides shelter, blankets, and other basics to families displaced by flooding

From left: Jose, Christina and Dala Torres are seeking shelter from flood waters for the second time in eight years. Photo: Matt Hackworth/CWS

April 20, 2007

By Matt Hackworth/CWS

BOUND BROOK, N.J. – Mud and debris show the high-water mark here, where flooding forced people from their homes Sunday night. Some 180 people who fled the rising waters sought shelter at the Presbyterian Church of Bound Brook.

"I've got two moms with four week-old babies sleeping in my office," said the church's pastor, Rev. Jerry Kilgore. "These people have lost everything."

At least one thing many survivors of this week's flooding do have is a gray blanket bearing the yellow Church World Service logo. "People found out we had the blankets and they started showing up," Kilgore said. "A lot of them have lost everything but they know they can come here and get a blanket."

Close to 300 CWS Blankets arrived here mid-day Thursday. A stack of them sits at the end of a folding table, where church volunteers are dispensing them along with other necessities. Some of the blankets already look well-used, rumpled on the folding cots that are stretched out in every nook and cranny of the church.

Like many New Jersey communities, Bound Brook enjoys a healthy community of immigrants. The disaster preparedness and response group New Jersey Interfaith estimates as many as 1,000 undocumented immigrants were forced from their dwellings in the nor'easter that brought more than a week of rain and flooding to Central New Jersey.

Volunteers handing out supplies
Volunteers at the Presbyterian Church in Bound Brook, NJ, hand out basic supplies including CWS Blankets to flood survivors. Photo: Matt Hackworth/CWS

The Presbyterian Church of Bound Brook is no stranger to sheltering those who need help. During Hurricane Floyd's wrath in 1999, Christina Torres and her family lost much of their home in flooding. Once again, eight years later, the Torres family is calling the small, stone church home, this time as church members.

"I think we lost everything because we lived on the first floor apartment," Torres said through a translator. The family is originally from Mexico.

Hope arrived Friday in Bound Brook, where brilliant sunshine and a crystal blue sky shone over receding flood waters. Damage assessments estimate New Jersey saw at least $300 million in destruction from this week’s flooding, which also brought damage to at least six states.

New Jersey's Raritan River is returning to its usual, springtime levels but things in Bound Brook are far from normal.

"Most people around here don’t know this is happening," Kilgore said, adding that until everyone can return to their homes his church will remain a place of shelter.

Contributions to support these efforts may be sent to your denomination or directly to:

Church World Service
April 2007 Flooding and Tornadoes #6294
P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515

Contributions may also be made by credit card online, or by calling: 800-297-1516, ext. 222.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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