Thank you to all who participated in the recent survey that came on the heels of Hurricane Florence. In all, 54 family units completed all or part of the survey. While the survey results are likely not representative as those family units/individuals responding were more likely to support more active assistance efforts, they do suggest there is a core group within the Congregation that would like to be more supportive. The general consensus among respondents was that yes FHPC should be more involved in providing emergency/disaster assistance (8.28 on a 10-point scale). Slightly less favored increased church funding giving other budget priorities (7.13), while respondents indicated that they would be willing to support more activity from personal finances (7.98). Roughly half of the respondents said they would be willing to assist as part of a disaster assistance team (48.98%). On the issue of establishing an emergency response network to communicate and assist Church members impacted by a power outage or other emergencies, 78.43% favored such an effort. 98.0% of respondents indicated that we should coordinate assistance programs with other churches in the community. If we were to provide short-term housing, 82.61% of respondents indicated that they would be willing to assist in some way – cooking, cleaning, serving as greeters and/or providing financial support. The open-ended questions reflect enthusiasm as well as caution to target what we can support. The survey will inform the Task Force on Disaster/Emergency Assistance that will in turn report to Session. Click here for a full report of survey results. Copies will be available in the FHOG Office if you can’t access the link.
