Diocesan Housing Services, Catholic Charities, a local food bank, and the community stepped up last week when Hurricane Isaias left North Cape May’s low-income senior residents without power or food.
For more than 30 hours on Tuesday and Wednesday, the hurricane knocked out power to Haven House at Saint John of God, a low-income housing site for seniors. Residents’ refrigerated items — eggs, milk, produce, beef — were all spoiled.
Soon, housing services officials were providing pizza and peanut butter sandwiches. Catholic Charities provided frozen meals, while the local food bank brought over 10 pallets of food for the effort. A community member started a fundraiser, and locals chipped in to provide eggs, milk and yogurt to residents.
Alisa Erdman, social service coordinator for Haven House, noted that Haven House residents live on fixed budgets.
“They all live off Social Security. They just got their checks,” she told the New York Times for a story on its coverage of the storm. “They all went shopping on Monday, and all their food is gone.
“When this happened, we just said: Let’s get to work and just keep moving forward and not worry about what else can happen,” she added.
“The power of community really shined bright,” she said.
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