A partnership of disaster response providers has made the Somerset County rebuilding a success, according to the Delmarva Now.  The Mennonite Disaster Response,  Lutheran Partners in Disaster Response, Episcopal Relief & Development and the United Methodist Committee on Relief have been working in the area with financial help from groups such as Catholic Charities, United Way and the Red Cross.

The work is progressing smoothly, with 135 projects completed, ranging from minor ­repairs to major ­rehabilitations.  Two homes have been rebuilt and six more are planned, as described.

While rebuilding efforts started slowly, they picked up momentum about six months ago as residents saw work being done and stopped by to ask how they could get help, too.

More help became available when the Somerset County government was awarded an $8.6 million federal Community Development Block Grant to help with recovery efforts. So far, the county has 17 projects ready to go and is waiting for the release of the ­money, said Gary Pusey, the county’s planning director.

According to the article, the Long Term Recovery Committee staff still has about 90 cases left to assess during the next few months, and both the Mennonites and Methodists have committed to staying in town for at least another year.

For more information, see the full story from the Delmarva Now.