Long Term Recovery Committees, Agencies Provide Case Management For Hurricane Rita Evacuee's Unmet Needs
Release Date: April 13, 2006
Release Number: 1606-190
» More Information on Texas Hurricane Rita
AUSTIN, Texas -- Hurricane Rita evacuees who still need help with unmet needs job referrals, child and medical care, housing and other issues have a number of options open to them. Local and national nonprofit agencies, individual churches, civic clubs and others have been responding throughout the disaster to meet the needs of all evacuees, whether eligible or ineligible for assistance from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency.
The agencies continue to devote human and financial resources toward disaster assistance and have developed new initiatives to meet the nontraditional needs presented in the Hurricane Rita disaster.
In several counties, Long Term Recovery Committees (LTRC) have been tasked to seek creative solutions for assistance needs and are working with a variety of community- and faith-based organizations, including those with expandable capacity to support emergency temporary housing requirements.
Evacuees can access many of the organizations by dialing 211 , the Texas Information and Referral Network. These agencies will be providing case management services, particularly for the most vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, persons with disabilities, single head of family households, pre-disaster impoverished, newly impoverished and those with health challenges. Caseworkers will be working with the LTRCs to assist these individuals.
The program helps survivors by assisting in the creation of recovery plans, identifying unmet needs, and facilitating access to necessary resources. Case management services will function as an advocacy tool for hurricane survivors whose needs cannot or have not been met by other disaster organizations.
The goal is to strengthen area-wide disaster coordination by sharing information, simplifying client access, and jointly resolving unmet needs cases. The committee approach expands each agency's opportunity to assist survivors they might not otherwise have encountered and allows the most extensive use of each agency's services and resources.
FEMA manages federal response and recovery efforts following any national incident. FEMA also initiates mitigation activities, works with state and local emergency managers, and manages the National Flood Insurance Program. FEMA became part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on March 1, 2003.
Last Modified: Tuesday, 16-May-2006 10:43:25