{"id":1471,"date":"2017-11-17T17:47:08","date_gmt":"2017-11-17T17:47:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/?p=1471"},"modified":"2024-09-26T21:08:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-26T21:08:23","slug":"houston-hope-hurricane-harvey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/houston-hope-hurricane-harvey\/","title":{"rendered":"Houston Residents Find Hope in the Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hurricane-harvey.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-5500 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hurricane-harvey.jpg\" alt=\"a flooded street with water high enough to block the &quot;speed limit&quot; sign\" width=\"750\" height=\"563\" srcset=\"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hurricane-harvey.jpg 750w, https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/11\/hurricane-harvey-300x225.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 750px) 100vw, 750px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Though the media has moved on from Hurricane Harvey, the memory of August 25th is still fresh in the minds of <a href=\"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/houston-charter-bus\">Houston<\/a>\u2019s residents. In 24 hours, the storm covered the city with two feet of water, caused 14 fatalities, and destroyed the homes of thousands of residents..<\/p>\n<p>Our team worked 24\/7 to help over 10,000 Texas residents evacuate by charter bus in time for the storm\u2019s arrival. Today, life goes on, and the city is slowing rebuilding and repairing. While transporting evacuees back to Houston weeks later, we quickly noticed that no one, even a hurricane, can mess with Texas.<\/p>\n<p>For our <a href=\"https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/gogocharters\/houston-residents-find-hope-in-the-aftermath-of-hurricane-harvey\">second podcast episode<\/a>, we spoke to two Houstonians, <strong>Jennifer Underwood<\/strong> and\u00a0<strong>Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff<\/strong>, who showed us what sets this city apart.<\/p>\n<p>Listen to the full podcast episode below:<\/p>\n<p><iframe src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/357178400&amp;color=%23ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true&amp;visual=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"300\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<h2>Jennifer Underwood<\/h2>\n<p>Jennifer Underwood, staff writer at <a href=\"http:\/\/houston.citymomsblog.com\/\">Houston Moms Blog<\/a>, lives in an apartment with her husband and three kids. Their home was heavily damaged from flooding after Hurricane Harvey, and the family of five is still adjusting after the unexpected move.<\/p>\n<p>As a licensed attorney, Jennifer is better-equipped than most to navigate the city\u2019s regulations on construction. For example, the city requires a permit to rebuild homes that are located in a floodplain and are more than 50% damaged. These homes must be elevated or completely torn down.<\/p>\n<p>The Underwoods were fortunate to have flood insurance before Harvey. Jennifer told us that many people don\u2019t realize that the maximum amount they\u2019ll receive to rebuild their home is only $250,000. For those with extensive damage, this amount isn\u2019t enough to cover a rebuild, and they\u2019re forced to abandon their homes.<\/p>\n<p>Not everyone lost their homes in the hurricane, and some people are living with survivor\u2019s guilt. Jennifer said one of her close friends struggled with questions like, \u201cWhy was my home spared when so many people lost everything?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To Jennifer, the answer was obvious. \u201cGod needed somebody left to help the rest of us,\u201d said Underwood. The friend and her husband had helped the Underwoods get their lives back in order after the flood.<\/p>\n<p>The family\u2019s top priority after the hurricane was to get the kids back in school and return to a normal routine. Though the school had suffered damages, Jennifer was impressed by how quickly they were able to start classes again.<\/p>\n<p>If you would like to help the school continue its operations during the repair process, please donate to <a href=\"http:\/\/stesflood.org\/\">Saint Thomas\u2019 Episcopal School<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff<\/h2>\n<p>Rabbi Chaim Lazaroff is the program director for Chabad Lubavitch of Texas, an organization that serves as a beacon of light for the Jewish community in Texas. They seek to spread Ahavat Yisrael, which is akin to \u201cLove your neighbor as yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Chaim and his team embodied Ahavat Yisrael as first responders of Hurricane Harvey. They received calls from everyone, not just those in the Jewish community, and they used all of their resources to help. The team worked to bring evacuees from their homes and from shelters to more suitable, family-friendly places of refuge. They also collected donations through <a href=\"http:\/\/www.chabadhouston.com\/templates\/blog\/default_cdo\/aid\/734229\/jewish\/Hurricane-Harvey-Relief.htm\">their website<\/a>, which totaled $200,000 as of November 1, 2017.<\/p>\n<p><center><\/center>Thankfully, Chabad Houston\u2019s centers didn\u2019t suffer significant damage from flooding. Their daily operations, however, took a hit because their resources were spent in helping families recover from the hurricane.<\/p>\n<p>Still, Rabbi Chaim says, \u201cI thank God every day we were able to be on the giving end of kindness during Hurricane Harvey.\u201d He was happy to witness the human spirit and resilience people showed to those affected by the storm.<\/p>\n<p>Though the U.S. is a prosperous country, there\u2019s a limit to how much the government can do in natural disasters. Past events like Hurricane Katrina tested the capacity of agencies like FEMA. But Rabbi Chaim said that he noticed an improvement in their responsiveness and ability to get information out more efficiently with Hurricane Harvey. He\u2019s had visitors come to Houston and remark that they don\u2019t see signs of devastation.<\/p>\n<p>Born and raised in Texas, Rabbi Chaim is proud of the #HoustonStrong movement that emerged from August\u2019s disaster. As a member of the Jewish faith, he says he doesn\u2019t let the tough times get him down. The community fosters a sense of survival mentality and encourages its members to look forward to make the world a better place.<\/p>\n<p>The hurricane\u2019s goal was to test Houston\u2019s residents, but Rabbi Chaim says, \u201cIt picked the wrong city to mess with. We\u2019ll survive with flying colors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/\"><em>GOGO Charters<\/em><\/a><em> is a <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/complete-guide-charter-bus-rentals\/\"><em>charter bus rental service<\/em><\/a><em> that operates in over 300 cities across the United States. With access to a variety of <\/em><em>bus rentals<\/em><em> combined with superior customer service, we\u2019ve got everything you need to schedule your next big trip. <\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>We can accommodate groups of all shapes and sizes, making us perfect for weddings, corporate events, sports teams, church trips, vacations, and more. Have any transportation questions you need answered? Call us 24\/7 at 1-855-826-6770. We\u2019re happy to help.<\/em><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Though the media has moved on from Hurricane Harvey, the memory of August 25th is still fresh in the minds of Houston\u2019s residents. In 24 hours, the storm covered the city with two feet of water, caused 14 fatalities, and destroyed the homes of thousands&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":5698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[454],"tags":[3829],"yst_prominent_words":[1279,1281,4,253,1286,1291,134,1274,1288,1278,1280,37,1294,1287,1272,1275,1290,1283,1289,1292],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1471"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5881,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1471\/revisions\/5881"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1471"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gogocharters.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=1471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}