New York's 'Angels of Hope' Help Fire Victims Put Their Lives Back Together on the Long Road to Restoration
"I'm a chaplain. Some of my volunteers are chaplains. We're trained in crisis situations. But we're also trained to be able to meet the needs of humanity [by offering] prayer or just by being there. Having a cup of coffee with them, or putting an arm around them. Just to be a friend to them," said Rao.
Families displaced by fires are normally tended to by the Red Cross which are summoned by a fire chief at the time of crisis. Rao hopes to see Angels of Hope become an organization that also gets the call to provide care to fire victims.
The ministry is classified as a nonprofit charitable organization, and with enough financial support, Angels of Hope wants to provide quality clothing and care for fire victims in the weeks and months following their loss.
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"We don't give out junk. If it has a stain or a hole in it, we will not give that out," said Rao. "Our main focus within the first few hours is to assess [the situation]. And then we try to get the families on the beginning of that road back to restoration because we all know when you're in a crisis, the quicker you can put it behind you and start moving forward, the better you are going to feel about yourself."
Most families who've just gone through a fire forget to let utility companies know what has happened, and also neglect to pay their bills. Angels of Hope lets them know exactly who they need to call and what actions need to be taken after the disaster.
"We've recently answered six fires in our short time, five out of six families didn't know what to do after. Most people do not know what to do. Fires and insurance are just not something we think about [before they happen]," he said.
Based on statistics from a New York City fire website, Rao estimates that his organization will respond to anywhere between 200-300 fires in Staten Island this year alone.
Thanks to Angels of Hope, many of those families will have help from an organization that has members who've gone through similar experiences. This is something Rao did not have at the time of his fire, and he feels their compassion will make all the difference.
"Our experience in disasters will make us more effective. Because when you are out there in the field and you're talking with families, if there's one thing people could spot, it's when you're a phony. And you can't be a phony when you're dealing with [these people] because you're dealing with lives," said Rao.
Angels of Hope minsters to the spiritual needs of victims by first asking them if they practice any type of faith. As a trained New York City chaplain, Rao and his crew have the skillset to address people of all faiths. However, they do hope that God opens up a door so that they can share the Gospel with victims.
"We want to build relationships. We pray for them. And hopefully God will allow us to at least just plant a seed to let them know that we're here based on a mission that God has called us to do," he said.
Helping the victim is the first priority, according to Rao who said the group never attempts to push their faith on any family. By loving their neighbor by meeting their needs, Angels of Hope attempts to stay true to the commission of Jesus Christ.
For more information on the SI Angels of Hope, or to donate to the victims of fires, visit http://www.siangelsofhope.org/donate.html.
