More Than 30 Million Meals Served, Thousands Sheltered By Volunteer Organizations In Louisiana Disaster
Release Date: December 7, 2005
Release Number: 1603-204
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BATON ROUGE, La. -- An army of volunteer agencies and faith based groups from throughout Louisiana and much of the nation has been assembled to take help directly to persons suffering the dual attacks of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.
A variety of vital assistance is being provided. Volunteer organizations have offered--and continue to offer--everything from shelter, food, and personal items, to counseling, case management, and even tree removal.
To date, more than thirty million meals have been served to those stricken by the storms, thousands have been sheltered and assisted in making temporary repairs to damaged homes, cleaning away choking debris, and generally comforted by numerous faith based groups and some larger, more familiar agencies like the American Red Cross, Salvation Army and others.
"Recovery isn't quick or easy," said Harry Noftsker, volunteer agency coordinator for The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). "It's long and hard and the spirit of volunteerism continues long after the first emergency recovery operations end."
Perhaps an understatement of actual help from the agencies and individual groups is that as of the end of last week:
- The Southern Baptist Convention in coordination with the Salvation Army has provided more than 300,000 meals a day. There are 50,000 Southern Baptist volunteers in LA who have been instrumental in serving hot meals, and have already completed nearly 6,000 chain saw and mud out jobs. They've also done nearly 10,000 loads of laundry, and provided more than 30,000 showers.
- Second Harvest Food Banks of Louisiana, has distributed 25 million pounds of food since Hurricane Katrina devastated Louisiana which translates into 20,251,765 meals throughout the state.
- Catholic Charities USA has designated $100,000 a week to provide direct support to five Emergency Assistance Centers in the hardest hit communities in Louisiana . Services include help with rent, food, utilities, prescription drugs, furniture, crisis counseling, case management and miscellaneous assistance.
- Among the more easily recognizable aid agencies is the American Red Cross, that has operated nearly 1,100 shelters across 27 states and the District of Columbia and served 11,377,557 meals and 14,503,102 snacks since Hurricane Katrina made landfall. The American Red Cross has also:
- Established 260 fixed feeding units
- Distributed 50,588 clean up kits; 71,746 comfort kits
- Sheltered 142,494 people
- Responded with more than 187,000 Red Cross relief workers.
Noftsker said thousands of volunteers from Louisiana and across the nation have been active in the aftermath of the storms' landfalls. Such efforts, while not so visibly as others of higher profile, continue today in a variety of ways.
Other active agencies and groups include Adventists Community Services; UMCOR, which is the disaster response arm of United Methodists; and the Louisiana Association of Nonprofit Organizations, LANO is a statewide membership network of nonprofits, foundations and individuals.
Among others are Catholic Charities, the Society of St. Vincent DePaul, Episcopal Disaster Response, and Scientology Volunteer Ministers.
As just one relatively unknown and rarely mentioned example of activity in the disaster areas, the Houma-based group, Terrebonne Readiness and Assistance Coalition, known as TRAC has quietly and effectively concentrated on helping families rebuild after a disaster. TRAC helps victims file claims, find volunteer labor for home repairs, contact appropriate agencies for specific needs, and much more. TRAC is a community and faith based non-profit that began helping south Louisiana residents with storm preparation and recovery in 1992, shortly after Hurricane Andrew ravaged the state's coast.
FEMA prepares the nation for all hazards and manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, trains first responders, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program and the U.S. Fire Administration. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Wednesday, 07-Dec-2005 16:53:25