{"id":6673,"date":"2023-03-05T12:50:39","date_gmt":"2023-03-05T09:50:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/?p=6673"},"modified":"2023-03-05T13:03:08","modified_gmt":"2023-03-05T10:03:08","slug":"newly-renovated-kingdom-hall-home-to-disaster-relief-center","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/newly-renovated-kingdom-hall-home-to-disaster-relief-center\/","title":{"rendered":"Newly renovated Kingdom Hall home to disaster relief center"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disaster preparedness and response are two things that are top of mind for residents of the hurricane prone U.S. Virgin Islands. Local Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses aim to provide a sanctuary in times of crisis with the newly renovated Kingdom Hall on St. Thomas.<\/p>\n

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Volunteer James Alit speaks with Steve Presley, left, and Michael Pruiett, right, from the company William R. Nash Mechanical Contractor. Photos by Jehovah’s Witnesses<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

All were welcome to learn more about their effort during an open house on Feb. 24, which included guided tours of the disaster relief center.<\/p>\n

\u201cWork started on the renovation March 10, 2020 and very shortly after had to be paused due to the pandemic,\u201d said Ulises Rivera, USVI public relations manager for Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses. \u201cThen it resumed May 2022 and finished Aug 2022.\u201d<\/p>\n

The basement of the new hall is designated for disaster response and can shelter up to 80 people. This can include families that have lost safe housing due to a storm or other disaster and any incoming volunteers.<\/p>\n

The St. Thomas\u2019 congregation can collaborate with volunteers from Puerto Rico, the British Virgin Islands, and the U.S. mainland to identify community needs and quickly respond.<\/p>\n

Some of the organization\u2019s activities include collection and distribution of relief supplies, stabilization of properties and home repairs.<\/p>\n

For Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses, an important part of disaster response includes safety training with the goal of \u201can accident-free environment with minimum loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some of the courses offered include fall protection, respiratory protection, aerial lift, CPR, electrical safety, mold remediation, water loss prevention, and chainsaw safety.<\/p>\n

Local volunteer Monica Edelman said she has participated in a number of trainings, such as the fall prevention and electrical safety training.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband and I like to give back to the community, we want to give back to our neighbors,\u201d Edelman said.<\/p>\n

During the 2022 fiscal year, 2,434 volunteers assisted in disaster relief throughout the U.S. and Caribbean. A total of 2,115 households were assisted with case management, 298 houses were repaired, and the organization provided $1.8 million in humanitarian aid and $19.3 million in grant funding.<\/p>\n

In disaster situations, the Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses offer spiritual and emotional counseling as well.<\/p>\n

Along with Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses disaster relief efforts, they work to share Bible teachings with everyone.<\/p>\n

Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses often go out door-to-door in communities to offer their ministry. On St. Thomas, they also minister to cruise ship employees who stop in port. With ministry booklets in more than 400 languages, members are invited to visit the cruise ships a couple times a month.<\/p>\n

Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses produce the most widely circulated magazines in the world, with over 67 million copies printed in more than 400 languages each month.<\/p>\n

In 2020, the first ever complete sign-language translation of the Bible was released by Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses and made available at no charge.<\/p>\n

Now along with print, these reading materials are available online, at\u00a0JW.org<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Their website features articles, videos and audio resources that cover a wide range of topics that promote spiritual growth and a sense of well-being. The free online resources cater to the whole family, addressing relevant topics for couples, teens, and children.<\/p>\n

The website is also the most translated website in the world, and can be accessed in over 1,060 languages.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Disaster preparedness and response are two things that are top of mind for residents of the hurricane prone U.S. Virgin Islands. Local Jehovah\u2019s Witnesses aim to provide a sanctuary in times of crisis with the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6674,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6673","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-usa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6673","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6673"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6673\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6677,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6673\/revisions\/6677"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6674"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6673"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6673"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jwforum.net\/portal\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6673"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}