Take a moment and consider…What things might we need to rebuild?
Over the past several months, my thoughts have turned to various things I believe need “rebuilding.”
Rebuilding Western NC After Hurricane Helene
This fall, Hurricane Helene devastated western NC. The power of this storm is hard to fathom – it dumped about 14 inches of rain in Asheville over 3 days and hit the area with winds of up to 100 mph. It caused damage to over 6,900 roads and bridges, washed away 5 miles of Interstate 40, shaved down mountain tops enough to affect topographic maps, and permanently changed the course of numerous rivers. At least 100 lives have been lost, and the property damage is expected to total over $53 billion. Nothing like Helene has hit western NC since the Great Flood in 1916.
Fortunately, assistance and aid started flowing into the region even before the storm had subsided. Neighbors and local volunteers began helping to rescue victims. Local governments responded quickly, as did state and federal agencies.
To date, FEMA has already provided $213 million for housing and medical needs, with an additional $202 million promised for debris removal and reimbursement of emergency protective measures for the state. Insurance companies will likely pay out more than $3.5 to $7 billion. Individual volunteers and various civic and religious groups are signing up to help with the rebuilding, with some commitments spanning multiple years. In many cases, rebuilding will also include upgrades to water systems, roads, bridges, storm water drains, and other critical infrastructure to make them more resilient to extreme weather events.
While fully rebuilding the affected areas will take many years, the work is already underway.
Rebuilding National Unity
The 2024 elections offered a chance to rebuild a frayed national spirit and help low-wage workers. Because the president-elect campaigned on a platform of helping workers, he has the opportunity to avoid cutting funds to programs such as Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, previously known as “Food Stamps”). Better still – he has the opportunity to improve the dignity of our workforce by increasing the Federal minimum wage from the current $7.25 per hour which, unbelievably, has not increased since July 2009. Even though Social Security payments and some federal tax brackets are indexed annually for inflation, the minimum wage has no such automatic increase, meaning today's minimum wage worker is making only $4.95 per hour in inflation-adjusted dollars.
Certain Christian leaders and groups provided very strong support for the president-elect, with the hope that their social priorities – frequently justified by citing scripture – would be adopted by the next administration. I find it interesting that Jesus said nothing directly about any of today's "hot button" social issues, such as abortion, LGBTQ issues, and separation of church and state. He did, however, have a lot to say about taking care of the poor and practicing "The Golden Rule," a moral code of treating others with mutual respect, spanning all cultures and all faith traditions – and he taught his followers that these were his and God’s priorities.
Rebuilding Individual Lives
The services offered by Greensboro Urban Ministry (GUM) – providing shelter, food, and supportive services – help to plug the gaps in various social safety net programs. The goal is to keep people housed – either through emergency assistance funds or diversion to live temporarily with family or friends – or to provide temporary shelter to people who have lost their housing, while immediately beginning to rapidly rehouse these persons. Most of GUM's clients work low-wage jobs and would be among the 37% of adults in 2022 who could not pay a $400 unexpected expense from savings. Do I get my car repaired so I can keep my job, or do I pay my rent? Do I pay for medicine for my child, or do I pay my rent? These are the hard choices many low-wage workers frequently have to make.
I am proud that GUM helps its clients rebuild their lives after losing their housing, and I am thankful our community supports its mission by donations and volunteering. Every Friday morning around 6:00 am, I gather with my friends from First Lutheran Church and other faith communities to prepare and serve a hot, hearty breakfast to our guests. We don't ask about their religion, their politics, or the circumstances that brought them to GUM – none of that is relevant to our mission of feeding and serving those in need.
Rebuilding is a Moral Choice
It would be easy to write off the disaster in western NC by saying, “It's their problem, not mine” – yet that attitude runs counter to The Golden Rule. It is easy to slash funding for, or even deliberately ruin, a government program or local agency – however, that program or agency exists to provide something that benefits the public. Reforming, replacing, or rebuilding it is the responsible thing to do, as we learned about our nation's pandemic preparedness during Covid-19. It is easy to say clients of GUM should have made better choices – however, when the minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, not everyone can earn a living wage (currently, for a single adult, this is $20.94 per hour in Guilford County, NC), an “essentials only” amount that excludes savings. Programs such as Medicaid and SNAP are essential to helping make ends meet.
Jim Wallis, an author, theologian, and political activist, has a saying I admire – “A budget is a moral document.” Why is that? Because how an individual or a government spends its money is a reflection of its moral choices. Extending the 2017 tax cuts that mainly benefit large corporations and the very rich, paid for by cuts to Medicaid and SNAP? That is a moral choice, albeit a disgraceful one.
Likewise, rebuilding – whether it's housing, infrastructure, civic spirit, public services, or individual lives – is a moral choice. These are not merely expenses – rather, these are solid investments to benefit our community, our state, and our nation...and they also happen to be the right thing to do.
Peace, Shalom, Salaam, Namaste,
Todd L. Herman
PS – Please check out our most recent video on Rebuilding Lives.
