Public Employee Press

Michelle Chapman
Storm victim helped others

By GREGORY N. HEIRES

Some victims of Hurricane Sandy became heroes as they helped others while their own lives were upended by the storm.

Rent Examiner Michelle Chapman is one of the many public employees who volunteered in the Sandy relief effort while she coped with the personal crisis of a flooded home.

The Local 1359 member was among the staffers at the state Division of Housing and Community Renewal who volunteered and worked in a program that provides state grants of up to $10,000 to homeowners for repairs.

When the superstorm hit New York Oct. 29, Chapman was in Cleveland working in a different volunteer effort - the nationwide grassroots campaign of DC 37's parent union, the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, to help re-elect President Barack Obama. "Obama didn't create the recession. He deserved a second term to bring back jobs and a comfortable standard of living in the U.S.," she said, describing why she volunteered.

Although she was alarmed about the damage to her house, Chapman couldn't return home until Nov. 4. She was shocked when she reached her neighborhood in the Rockaways. "There was no electricity. Everything was dark," she said. "There was debris all over the streets. I couldn't believe my eyes."

Her Arverne, Queens, home was a wreck. Twelve feet of water had flooded the house - ruining beds, clothes and appliances in the basement and rising into her first-floor bedroom. She had to move in with her tenant on the second floor and later stayed with family.

Because of water damage, Chapman lost her Toyota Camry, but she returned to work the next morning. She volunteered for the temporary job at the Federal Emergency Management Agency relief center in Howard Beach, twice a week, including Saturdays, until Jan. 31.

"Some of the applicants I helped were very angry. Others shared the tragedies they went through," said Chapman, who was recently honored for her volunteer spirit by Rent Regulation Services Employees Local 1359. "One woman told me how she heard a loud crash and saw the water sweep her garage away."

Facing the same kind of misfortune herself, Chapman felt special compassion for the homeowners who needed the state assistance.

Reflecting on her shock and despair as she first entered her damaged home with its repugnant smell, Chapman said, "If you were not a strong person, you would just walk away, but for me it was really easier just to get back to work and fix my home," she said.