Jennifer Correa — Putting her Life Back Together

Jen and her two children evacuated before the storm hit, but along with many others, she and her husband figured it wouldn’t be worse than Hurricane Irene.

The day after the NYC marathon was cancelled I happened to catch Jen’s blog, Mom’s Gotta Run, after seeing a tweet from Another Mother Runner blogger and author of Run Like A Mother, Sarah Bowen Shea. The moment I read about how Jen, a mother of two young ones, had been planning to run the marathon when her home was swept away by Sandy, I knew we needed to reach out. Jen’s story is a great example of how strong the circle of mothers is.

Jen and her two children evacuated before the storm hit, but along with many others, she and her husband figured it wouldn’t be worse than Hurricane Irene. They expected a mess, but never imagined total destruction. Jen’s husband, Pedro stayed behind with a friend from his block, to secure the family’s home. When the water rose above his head, he and a neighbor climbed to upper levels of their house. When that wasn’t high enough, Pedro and a neighbor jumped onto the roof of a house floating by. Hanging onto the roof, Peter swam in the dark for close to an hour.

Jen had no idea what her husband was going through as she and her kids weathered the storm in safety, but when she received a voice message with what Jen calls, “his goodbye message,” she knew something horrible was going down. “Pedro’s military. He was a first responder at 9/11. His work puts him in danger all the time. He’s never safe.” That’s why, long ago he established that when he was in a particularly dangerous situation, he’d call and say “see you later,” but never goodbye. The message Jen received on the night of Hurricane Sandy was, “See you later.” After having survived on 9/11 and in Iraq, Peter didn’t think he’d make it through Sandy.

Many hours later, another call from Pedro came through. “I’m OK. I’m safe,” but their house and neighborhood were gone along with everything they owned. Jen says, “My neighbors were my main base of support, my best friends. My daughter’s daycare was across the street. Our entire neighborhood is gone. What I do have is more valuable than anything. I have my kids, my husband, my friends and family. I have strangers reaching out through my blog to help. I feel like everything that’s truly important is safe.”

Christy reached out to Jen because she was inspired by what a fellow-marathoner and mother had been through. They spoke on the only thing that remains of her house — her front steps — and asked how she could help. Jen said, “We need everything from a TV to a toilet brush. Look around your house. Anything you see, I don’t have. People have been really generous with clothes and towels. Others have contributed to a fundraising site and donated enough money that we could rent an apartment. But all we own right now is three air mattresses and some donated clothes. We’re literally starting from scratch.”

When asked about how she’ll return to normal life, Jen said, “There is no normal now. I don’t know what that will look like yet.” Jen hasn’t been able to return to work as an executive assistant for New York Life Insurance since the storm, in part because she has no daycare or work clothes. Jen says is, “I’m still an emotional wreck from what’s happened. I’m in no shape to be dealing with finding daycare or getting through a workday. Just trying to rent a car today, (because, you know, all the cars are gone too) I fell apart when the car rental lady was rude. I’m just trying to put my life back together. We feel like our entire life is in the hands of FEMA and the insurance companies.”

What’s it like to be on the receiving end of so much help? Jen says, “ We’re grateful and humbled. Pedro and I feel like we’ve lost all pride at this point. We’ve gone to the donation sites to get food. When you lose everything, restocking a home is a lot. Even a couple boxes of Cheerios, some diapers, wipes and bleach are expensive. I was just thinking about the holidays and realized we don’t have Christmas ornaments anymore. I know, that seems minimal, but these thoughts come through my mind all day long. The bigger thought though is that I’m made up of so many more parts than just the part that’s the woman who lost her home. I’m a mother, wife, runner, blogger, friend, sister and employee. I will get all those parts back and put my life back together.”

Jen’s friends, family and blogging community have created some brilliant ways to provide significant help. One friend generated a fundraising site on YouCaring.com. Jen says, “The money that’s already come in provided the deposit for an apartment. Having money available in an account is amazing. It’s humbling enough to have to ask for help and take money from someone’s hands. This makes it easier.”

• If someone you know was affected by Sandy and needs similar help, go to YouCaring.com to set up your own fundraising page.

Another friend set up a Target registry (in the wedding section) so Jen could register for things she needs. Jen says, “We’re not picky people, but when we realize we need something specific, like a booster seat, it’s nice to be able to put it on the list.”

• Start registries for your friends in need at Target, Sears, JC Penney, Walmart, etc.

With so many people donating supplies at donation sites, more volunteers are needed for sorting and distribution. When Christy visited Jen on Staten Island she met with women at a local site who said, “We’ve received bags and bags of clothing, but nothing’s sorted into men’s, women’s and children’s things or into sizes. We need bodies to help do that. We also need warm jackets, hats, gloves and boots. It’s getting cold here.

• Check in with donation sites in the hardest hit areas and volunteer to do whatever they need.
• Find out what specific items are still needed and collect them from friends, family and local businesses.

Special thanks to The Smile, The Smile To Go, Flower Girl, Bari Studio, Tacombi, Whitman’s, &Isa for organizing the donation drive and providing supplies that we were able to deliver to Staten Island. They will be accepting donations until 11/11 (maybe longer — they will assess the need as the weeks go on).