the long road home

Sarah B. is a resilient single mother from North Little Rock, Arkansas. Despite enduring a tumultuous upbringing and the challenge of raising two young sons, one of whom is on the autism spectrum, Sarah never wavered in her pursuit of a better life. Trained as an autism therapist, she fought tirelessly for her children’s well-being while working as a waitress to make ends meet. Six years ago, she achieved her dream of homeownership, purchasing a quaint mid-century home in her beloved neighborhood. However, on March 31, 2023, a devastating tornado tore through their community, wreaking havoc on Sarah’s home. Amid the chaos, Sarah’s bravery shone as she responded to calls for help from her neighbor. After cutting the fence apart, Sarah helped her neighbor and their young children escape their damaged home. 

Sarah’s journey to rebuild her home post-tornado has been fraught with challenges. Like many homeowners impacted by disasters, she has faced bureaucratic hurdles with insurance. While she had been granted recovery assistance, she still faced financial strain and uncertainty due to the slow release of funds.

In partnership with the Weather Channel’s FAST: HOME RESCUE, All Hands and Hearts (AHAH) supported Sarah’s journey to recovery and completed essential repairs to allow her and her sons to return home safely. We were thrilled to see her family find comfort again in their home and fulfill her renovation dream of having window shelves to showcase her indoor plants.

Sarah’s experience is just one story among the more than three million people in the United States who faced displacement due to weather and climate-related disasters in 2023.

The frequency and intensity of weather and climate-related disasters are rising. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the US experienced a record-breaking 28 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disasters in 2023.

The devastating impact of this upward trend is felt by disaster-prone communities, such as those in the south-central region of the United States, with underserved populations experiencing the effects most acutely. The south-central region of the US has been severely impacted by tornadoes and flooding over the past few years. AHAH responded to many of these disasters, such as the devastating tornadoes that struck Arkansas in 2021 and the “Father’s Day Windstorm” that resulted in five deaths and widespread damage in Tusla, Oklahoma, in June 2023.

FAST: HOME RESCUE

Building upon our disaster relief work in the region, AHAH partnered with Fight or Flight Production to repair and strengthen storm-damaged homes for season 2 of The Weather Channel’s FAST: HOME RESCUE television show. All Hands and Hearts’ Florida Hurricane Relief program in Fort Myers,  previously provided volunteer construction labor for the show for Hurricane Ian impacted homeowners. Over ten weeks in 2023, AHAH staff and volunteers completed interior and exterior repairs on ten homes in Arkansas, Mississippi and Oklahoma, completing a house a week. Typical scopes of work included demolition, debris removal, insulation, floor installation, painting, window sealing, baseboard trimming, door hanging and siding repairs.

In addition to residential volunteers who joined from across North America, several local community members volunteered their time to support the program. Representatives of local long-term recovery groups, mayors and a popular local meteorologist were among some of the local volunteers who helped to make the program a success. For one family’s home outside of Tulsa, AHAH worked alongside local volunteers from Recovering Oklahomans After Disasters (ROAD) and Nomads On a Mission Active in Divine Service (NOMADS) to reframe and install doors; replace, repair and paint fascia and soffit; patch and paint trim, walls and ceilings; and add flooring. Overall, volunteers collectively provided close to 1,500 volunteer hours across the three states and ten homes.

Brandi James, AHAH’s FAST: HOME RESCUE Recovery Program Director and former Program Director for the Florida Hurricane Ian Relief program, shares the best part was experiencing the joy of homeowners each Friday evening when they returned from filming their big home reveal. In addition to excitement, there were often tears of relief when homeowners saw the amount of repairs and disaster-preparedness enhancements AHAH teams had completed in only a week. Her second favorite part was the camaraderie of the hardworking AHAH team. While everyone worked long hours to complete the repairs with only a one-week turnaround time, the team took wellness and fun seriously, attending a college football rivalry game, kayaking down Mississippi rivers, visiting a state fair, and touring historic civil rights sites in Memphis, Little Rock and Tulsa.

For the growing number of displaced Americans, disasters are incredibly disruptive. Overall, 18.2% of those displaced by a climate or weather-related disaster say they’ve never returned home, partly due to the complexity of the insurance claims process and the inability of most Americans to afford repair costs out-of-pocket. It’s this population that AHAH is serving. By helping families get back into their homes faster and at no cost, AHAH supports their recovery and integration into their communities where they belong and want to be.

See All Hands and Hearts’ community-inspired, volunteer-powered work on FAST: HOME RESCUE airing on The Weather Channel every Saturday at 9:00 PM EST until April 20, 2024.