The Island Spirit Fund

We’re feeling inspired by the work communities are achieving together in the US Virgin Islands. Each of these three beautiful islands is slowly recovering, physically and emotionally.

Here are some of the stories of hope coming from St. Croix, St. John, and St. Thomas:

• St. Croix Long-Term Recovery Group was able to hire a new Disaster Case Manager. Each manager is assigned up to 80 cases and they work to ensure every client is connected to resources. Unlike in other programs, Disaster Case Managers provide assistance until their client is completely recovered and has a sustainable action plan to thrive post-recovery.
• St. John Long-Term Recovery Group has built 12 homes. They have 15 more homes currently under construction and 53 homes still in need of assistance. “Together we can make these houses a home again,” says Jon Eichner, Director of Operations.
• Community Foundation of the Virgin Islands (CFVI) is investing in the ecological resilience of the islands. They are funding the distribution of native fruit trees to farmers on St. Thomas, native plant restoration in National Park areas on St. John, commercial composting on St. John, and a new Seed Stewards team that will to reestablish the urban tree canopy on St. Croix.
• St. Thomas Recovery Team has helped families with middle and high school students learn together about local hazard risks and investigate opportunities for resilience. They’ve also hosted several teams of skilled volunteers to help with their ongoing home rebuilding efforts.

The work is far from over. On St. Thomas alone, there are more than 5,000 people waiting to have a case worker assigned to help them navigate the process of rebuilding their homes and livelihoods, to access counseling or job training, and to work as their advocates with public and private insurance and rebuilding agencies.

Thank you for your support of long-term recovery. We will continue to bring you stories of resilience and strength from these islands.