The SBP team, which has repaired 624 homes since Hurricane Dorian in 2019, is able to continue its mission of assisting Central and East Grand Bahama residents after receiving new funding. 

"To date, our non-government organization has invested more than $12 million through our various recovery programs on Grand Bahama and Abaco," said SBP's Executive Director Bahamas Andy Stofleth.

"We were slated to wrap up our work in November but we have some new funding coming in that will take us into February or March of 2024.

"We are currently partnering with the Disaster Reconstruction Authority (DRA) and the Grand Bahama Disaster Relief Foundation (GBDRF) to address the remaining needs on the island."

Stofleth said there is still a need for SBP's help.

"At the beginning of the year, there were 200 people on our list, but we have chipped away at that number," he said.

"There have been some folks that were able to make repairs and recover on their own, however, that's not the case for everyone.

"There are a lot of folks that tried with what resources they have, but with the economy still lagging from Dorian and the pandemic, [they] haven't recovered and probably can't do so on their own [and] are going to need assistance from organizations like SBP or others."

SBP, a non-profit, disaster relief organization in the United States and formerly called the St. Bernard Project, was founded by Liz McCartney and Zack Rosenburg in March 2006.

The duo, who volunteered in St. Bernard Parish, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, recognized the need to shorten the time between disaster and full recovery.

The organization expanded to include offices in several states, including South Carolina, New Jersey, New York and West Virginia.

The assistance provided after Hurricane Dorian in 2019 was SBP's first disaster relief assistance project outside of the United States.

Stofleth, who has been in Grand Bahama since 2019, said that within a few months after the storm, 2,200 residents had applied for assistance with SBP.

"I would say at this point, the balance of folks that we are still working through is about another 100 folks," he said.

Stofleth noted that the number of residents who can be helped depends on funding.

"Funding is always the tricky point because every year we have to go back and make the case to keep funding the work here.

"Unfortunately, disasters are happening almost every week in different parts of the world. So, it's us trying to fight to make the case that there are still people in Grand Bahama that need our assistance."

Stofleth said, "Ultimately, as long as we have funding for different disasters, we can make do."

He noted that what is vital for SBP Bahamas is the participation of local partners.

"If we are going to bring money from the US and other places to The Bahamas, it is important that we find local partners who can also help us continue the work." he said.

"So, if we are solely funding local projects, it is a much harder argument for us to continue funding it from abroad without seeing any local investments."

Fortunately, Stofleth said, SBP has had great partners in Grand Bahama.

"The DRA has been a great help to us, both in sharing information about homeowners who still need help; the government, giving us VAT-free on building materials," he said.

"The Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA), the GBDRF funded some of our work since day one. So, it's kind of this togetherness locally that has helped."

He added, "Right now, home repair is kind of the final piece of it, because that is still where there is the most significant need, in our opinion."

Stofleth's team, which includes Cameron Quinlan, senior project manager, and Dara Olivencia, case manager and assistant project manager, remains focused on finding and helping residents they believe have fallen through the system.

One of those was Sunset Subdivision resident Carmen Jones whose roof was damaged by Hurricane Dorian.

"After Dorian, the roof was leaking, and I don't know whether I got bypassed by or what by those lending assistance, but I had to put a tarp over the roof."

Jones said that over time, the wind and sun destroyed the tarp. It was blown off the roof, leaving pieces hanging over the side.

Then Olivencia came along.

"Now, four years after Dorian, I don't know where Dara came from, but one morning I was sitting at my table, she knocked on the door and said she noticed I had a problem with the roof," Jones said.

Olivencia took the grandmother's information and returned less than two weeks later with the contractor from Freeport Construction (Frecon).

"Now, if you look at my house, I have a brand-new roof and I feel like a brand-new woman," Jones said.

"I am eternally grateful, because only God, and I believe in miracles and that was a miracle for me."

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