Locals Helping Irene Victims in Greene County

Employees at one Yorktown business are collecting donations to be sent to Hurricane Irene victims in Greene County, just two hours away in upstate New York. 

Erin Brophy, who works at Fabric Mart, at 2019 Crompond Rd. in Yorktown Heights, has family members in those hard-hit communities and wants to help. 

"You might as well take a map and erase it," she said of the tiny area. "It's 100 percent total loss. These are not wealthy areas and they didn't have much to begin with, so to lose everything, it's devastating."

Now, food, clothes, and the basic toiletries (like shampoos, soap, toilet paper) is needed for the people who are displaced out of their destroyed homes and are staying in shelters. And the scenes were terrifying—decks were on seen on top of roofs, roads were washed out, a car was sticking from underneath a collapsed house.

Brophy said she started the fundraiser last Tuesday after she read what her sister had written on Facebook (the only way of communication now) telling her friends that there was a stream if anyone needed drinking water. 

"That was the click," Brophy said. "I realized it was that bad and they needed help."

Brophy said the worst her family suffered was a washed off car and no electricity, but they were one of the lucky ones. Having seen pictures and heard stories from her family, Brophy said there were people on the second floor of a house trying to salvage what they had moments before their house collapsed on its side. Many people were rescued by the National Guard with helicopters out of their homes. 

"The few people who still had supplies gave to those who didn't have anything," said Brophy adding that her sister in Prattsville too was making rounds to make sure people are safe and transport them to the shelters.

The response from Yorktowners so far has been great, Brophy said, as she received 40 bags of clothes and another big bag of kids' shoes. She made a trip to the Catskill area this past weekend and plans to have another one. There is no cut off date for the donations because she will keep sending things to the area for as long as the people need help. 

"They don't know how they will recover," she said. "They're taking it day by day. Seeing how they've pulled themselves, I have all the faith they will rebuild their lives."