On the night of September 21, 1989, Hurricane Hugo struck the lowcountry of South Carolina, causing widespread damage to the homes of the rich and poor alike. Hibben United Methodist Church became the disaster response depot and coordination site for the East Cooper area. Within days, hundreds of volunteers from around the country and tons of food, clothing and building supplies began arriving. A massive volunteer effort developed and by the time the South Carolina Annual Conference took over the operation and established a continuing office to provide long-term response, almost 300 homes had been temporarily repaired.

In June of 1991 the Church granted approval for the Relief Center to remain open to address housing problems in rural areas of Charleston Berkeley and Dorchester Counties. Our statistics are miraculous with more than 2000 homes repaired, including the construction of 66 new homes.

During the recovery process, we became aware of the vast level of poverty, which existed in the rural areas of our State long before the storm. Not uncommon to find were homes, which can best be described as shacks, lacking indoor facilities, and in many cases electricity. The South Carolina Housing Authority in their latest survey, estimates that 23% of homes in the State are substandard. However, in rural areas the figures are significantly higher.

A deeper problem, however, is not so much the deplorable living conditions, but the abject consequences of poverty. Families living in such conditions are largely unaware of helping systems available to them, and of community assistance which would enable them to change their situation.

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