For days, the people of Jackson, Mississippi have been faced with shortages of potable water, due to catastrophic flooding that pushed an already-hobbled water system to failure. In a widespread crisis such as this, the most marginalized members of a community are always hit the hardest.
NB Affordable, a New Jersey-based real estate firm focused on affordable housing, started receiving calls Thursday evening from property managers concerned about the wellbeing of their tenants and the citizens of surrounding neighborhoods.
Within hours, NB Affordable had assembled a task force of local organizations, community leaders, politicians, and their own employees to execute an emergency relief plan.
Initially, there were concerns among the team about a lack of equipment necessary to transport and distribute the water effectively, but the Foundation’s operations team quickly sourced the equipment from the surrounding area and as far away as New Orleans, LA.
Utilizing their network of resources and like-minded organizations, the Foundation’s disaster relief team quickly sourced both the equipment and resources necessary to provide direct relief, filling ten tractor-trailers with bottled water before heading to Jackson.
Through partnership with eight local organizations (the Mississippi State Medical Association, Mississippi Medical & Surgical Association, Quinn Healthcare, The Cochran Firm, Tamar Counseling Group, New Horizon Church, Jackson Medical Mall, and We Will Go Ministries), NB Affordable successfully distributed over 150,000 bottles of water at the Jackson Medical Mall and New Horizon Baptist Church Sunday morning.
State Senator David Blount and Jackson Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba also came to assist in the distribution process.
“I want to show my deep appreciation and gratitude to the NB Affordable Foundation for distributing ten tractor trailer loads of water to the City of Jackson. You stepped up to the plate during trying times and provided an essential resource to Jackson residents in need. We already had great respect for what you do, but your generous donation to the City is something we will not forget or take for granted,” Mayor Chokwe Antar Lumumba said.
“We have four communities here already in Jackson, with four more coming hopefully in the next few months. We felt that we had to answer this calling, being that we are already so heavily involved in the community here. We wanted to give back to our residents in the Greater City of Jackson and to assist in any way that we could,” NB Affordable Group Director of Special Operations Isaac Horowitz said.
