Dick Forrester, team coordinator of the Sheds of Hope Ministry at Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church, was in the church parking lot just before 9 a.m. on Nov. 25; Steve Britton of the Presbyterian Church Mission to North America (the church’s disaster response division) arrived a little later with his truck and trailer ready for a trip to Arden, N.C. Romeo Chavez came with the forklift ready to load the packaged sheds onto the trailer.
Thirty minutes later, the six sheds were on their way. According to the church, they should all be set up by Christmas.
These sheds are provided free of charge and maintained free of charge for two years by church members who put together packages for families who lost their homes to disasters and need a place to store salvaged items.
According to the church, “the Sheds of Hope chapter at LOPC has been in place since 2017 and meets monthly to build sheds shipped throughout the Southeast. When not immediately needed, they are flat-packed, wrapped, and stored at Rome's nearest disaster response warehouse. From there, they are dispatched to multiple Southeastern states.”
The two most recent builds, in October and November, were specifically for hurricane victims, and the team increased production by four sheds, for a total of 12 going to North Carolina.
“Disaster response people have discovered that if people can have their belongings close at hand, it accelerates their recovery from a disaster,” Forrester said.
The relief efforts in western North Carolina have been especially challenging in some cases.
In one case, Forrester said that to get a shed to the apex of a steep driveway, the shed had to be broken down into several parts and loaded onto a four-wheel drive truck to make the ascent.
The sheds are 8x8x8-foot wood buildings with treated lumber and plywood floors. The walls are made of 2x4-inch studs and LP siding.
The initial cost of a Shed of Hope is about $1,100.
A Shed of Hope may be delivered and put up by volunteers from another location, but Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church is responsible for following up with families who receive shed kits built there.
Six months after the shed is installed, a team from LOPC arrives to check on it, and in the process, relationships are often built with families affected by disasters.
“We’ve found that people want to tell their stories,” Forrester said.
Six months later, the team will follow up again, this time with buckets of paint and hardware to help maintain the shed and maybe a picnic basket full of sandwiches.
“By determination and stubbornness, we are probably the longest surviving shed kit-building church in our denomination,” Forrester said. “We’ve got a much tighter group of men in our church because of this program. When you get to be our age, you wonder if your chance to make a difference has passed. And we found out we can still make a difference.”
Volunteers agree.
“I would not underestimate at all the benefit to the men working together for a single purpose, enjoying each other, and everybody contributing,” said Steve Larson, another LOPC volunteer.
Forrester said the church is trying to reach out to the local community and invites anyone interested to grab a hammer or drill and join the fun.
The Sheds of Hope ministry uses the pavilion next door to the church as its shed kit assembly area, but Forrester says the recent installation of pickleball courts and other recreational activities nearby will eventually require finding a separate location where the sheds can be built.