South Carolina: Flood & Recovery

Ongoing coverage of South Carolina's recovery from the flooding of 2015.What had been Lindsay Langdale's Columbia home October 3, 2015 was a flooded ruin the next day.This coverage is made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In October of 2015, South Carolina received rainfall in unprecedented amounts over just a few days time. By the time the rain began to slacken, the National Weather Service reported that the event had dumped more than two feet of water on the state. The U.S. Geological Survey reported that the subsequent flooding was the worst in 75 years.

House in a Box Begins Distribution of Furniture to Flood-Impacted Families

South Carolina Public Radio

Published April 13, 2016 at 10:09 PM EDT

An House in a Box employee and a volunteer load a couch into a family’s moving truck.

When the October floods hit, thousands were displaced across the state. Almost 7 months later, hundreds of people are still waiting for the chance to go home again. The House in a Box Program offers help to those who are just now moving home.

At a warehouse on Shop Road in Columbia, Bill Gray and a crew of staff and volunteers are loading a moving truck with beds and drawers, linens and towels. Bill is the warehouse manager for House in a Box, a national St. Vincent de Paul program that provides new furniture for people affected by a disaster. At the end of March, House in a Box began distributing furniture to families impacted by the October floods. South Carolina Public Radio’s Laura Hunsberger has the story.

From the Reporter’s Desk…

I first met Marilyn Gray and the House in a Box team when they were touring a prospective warehouse location for the program. Initially, the program was looking at space at the Richland Fashion Mall in Columbia, with the goal of turning the location into a sort of “one-stop shop” for flood-impacted families. Ultimately, the program found a warehouse space on Shop Road, at a location formerly used by Thermo King Columbia, Inc.

On this distribution day, House in a Box provided furniture to 8 families.

Marilyn Gray explained that the owner of the space, Ritchie McQueeney, heard about the program’s need for a warehouse through a family member who is a member of the St. Vincent de Paul Society in the Midlands. He has offered the space at a reduced rate for both House in a Box and the South Beltline-Gills Creek Community Relief Foundation to use for flood relief efforts, the cost of which is being covered by a private donor.

McElveen Family – John, Ruby, and Josh McElveen watch as the House in a Box crew loads their new furniture.

House in a Box shares the warehouse space with the South Beltline-Gills Creek Community Relief Foundation, which distributes consumable goods and household supplies to flood-impacted families. The “one-stop shop” element of the plan has remained in place, and people who receive furniture from House in a Box can then stop by SBGC to see what other resources may be available. Both organizations hope to continue their work at the warehouse through the end of the year.

For More on House in a Box:

Listen to our first House in a Box story

Visit their website or their Facebook page

We had a chance to talk more with John and Ruby McElveen about their experience during the floods:

Update to this story:

maj-gen_livingston_2_edit.mp3

At a ribbon cutting even for House in a Box on May 17, 2016, Major-General Robert E. Livingston Jr. spoke about the challenges flood-affected residents face and why the long-term recovery process will likely take years to complete.