Sunday, October 09, 2005
Some more communications from Clarke (and Gabrielle):
Hello.
I volunteer for the Ministry Site Logistics/Coordination group.
My contacts at the Salvation Army and Mennonite Central Committee are actually in the Gulf Coast States and thus I have made no progress in obtaining detailed information on how they are structuring their disaster and recovery assistance.
A friend and work colleague is on the Crofton Kiwanis board of directors. They meet tonight. They are discussing where the Crofton Kiwanis can invest their funds in Gulf Coast disaster and recovery assistance. He will inform the board of the POP group. Once we have details of precisely what we will actually do and where we will actually go, he believes that they will help finance our work – not our travel and basic support, but help finance the actual support given on the ground when we go.
I hope that this helpful.
Clarke
____
Hello.
I spoke with the executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee and checked the Mennonite Disaster web site (www.mds.mennonite.net), have a call into the Salvation Army and checked their web site (www.salvationarmyusa.org), checked the Presbyterian Church site (www.pcusa.org/katrina) and spoke with the vice president of the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation.
All three faith-based organizations have places for volunteers to register. The Salvation Army has the most structured volunteer registration form - they ask for emergency medical skills, occupations, list 20 skill areas, ask about previous disaster training, and ask about vehicle qualifications. I suggest we print out the Salvation Army form and use it to identify our own cluster of skills. The 20 skill list would be very helpful to us. Jon: please let me know if you want me to print this form out and bring copies to the Sept 26 POP meeting.
The Salvation Army has the most structured disaster response mechanism. There are identifiable local and regional disaster service programs. There are Hurricane Katrina disaster sites in AL, LA, MS, and TX. What I personally like about the Salvation Army is: All disaster response teams are "coordinated and directed by commissioned officers and trained personnel." It is appealing to me personally to arrive at a pre-determined disaster site and have an experienced disaster professional directing the work. It also appears that they can match our skills and interests in a coordinated program.
The Mennonite Disaster Service has a concrete list of projects where they need help. Their "focus is on clean up, repair, and rebuilding homes." They emphasize the contining work that they are doing, in areas such as Arcadia, Wauchula, and Century, Florida. Their only current Hurricane Katrina projects are chainsaw crews in Mobile, AL and Meridan and Gulport, MS. They are exploring projects in Bayou la Batre, AL and New Orleans. They also have project leaders, experienced in recovery work. I particularly like that in all Mennonite disaster project areas they provide housing for all volunteers. Thus, there would be no need to locate housing and we would be automatically connected to families and other volunteers.
The Presbyterian site says that "as soon as work sites are ready we will be contacting registered teams to schedule them." In looking at previous work sites, it appears that they basically identify Presbyterian churches that have called for help. It appears that they assist a few other Presbyterian non-church sites, such as camps and retreats. If I heard Jon correctly when we last met and if I read the web site correctly, it appears that Jon would work out with a Presbyterian pastor what services could be helpful.
In speaking with the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation, they have a preference in financing concrete and specifically proposed activities. They have a historic relationship with Habitat for Humanity. They are having an internal discussion about whether they want to break their traditional role of financing projects centered in Anne Arundel County. They are interested in considering an application for financial assistance to support a Prince of Peace based Gulf Coast recovery trip if we are clear on who the local sponsor is, what we will do once there, what we are financing ourselves, and what precisely will their funds pay for. They are very interested but may decide to retain their financial support within the county.
I hope this information is helpful. Clarke
____
Hello.
I spoke with the executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee and checked the Mennonite Disaster web site (www.mds.mennonite.net), have a call into the Salvation Army and checked their web site (www.salvationarmyusa.org), checked the Presbyterian Church site (www.pcusa.org/katrina) and spoke with the vice president of the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation.
All three faith-based organizations have places for volunteers to register. The Salvation Army has the most structured volunteer registration form - they ask for emergency medical skills, occupations, list 20 skill areas, ask about previous disaster training, and ask about vehicle qualifications. I suggest we print out the Salvation Army form and use it to identify our own cluster of skills. The 20 skill list would be very helpful to us. Jon: please let me know if you want me to print this form out and bring copies to the Sept 26 POP meeting.
The Salvation Army has the most structured disaster response mechanism. There are identifiable local and regional disaster service programs. There are Hurricane Katrina disaster sites in AL, LA, MS, and TX. What I personally like about the Salvation Army is: All disaster response teams are "coordinated and directed by commissioned officers and trained personnel." It is appealing to me personally to arrive at a pre-determined disaster site and have an experienced disaster professional directing the work. It also appears that they can match our skills and interests in a coordinated program.
The Mennonite Disaster Service has a concrete list of projects where they need help. Their "focus is on clean up, repair, and rebuilding homes." They emphasize the contining work that they are doing, in areas such as Arcadia, Wauchula, and Century, Florida. Their only current Hurricane Katrina projects are chainsaw crews in Mobile, AL and Meridan and Gulport, MS. They are exploring projects in Bayou la Batre, AL and New Orleans. They also have project leaders, experienced in recovery work. I particularly like that in all Mennonite disaster project areas they provide housing for all volunteers. Thus, there would be no need to locate housing and we would be automatically connected to families and other volunteers.
The Presbyterian site says that "as soon as work sites are ready we will be contacting registered teams to schedule them." In looking at previous work sites, it appears that they basically identify Presbyterian churches that have called for help. It appears that they assist a few other Presbyterian non-church sites, such as camps and retreats. If I heard Jon correctly when we last met and if I read the web site correctly, it appears that Jon would work out with a Presbyterian pastor what services could be helpful.
In speaking with the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation, they have a preference in financing concrete and specifically proposed activities. They have a historic relationship with Habitat for Humanity. They are having an internal discussion about whether they want to break their traditional role of financing projects centered in Anne Arundel County. They are interested in considering an application for financial assistance to support a Prince of Peace based Gulf Coast recovery trip if we are clear on who the local sponsor is, what we will do once there, what we are financing ourselves, and what precisely will their funds pay for. They are very interested but may decide to retain their financial support within the county.
I hope this information is helpful. Clarke
___
I spoke with Beth, assistant to Susan Ryan, Coordinator, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, at the Louisville Presbyterian Church headquarters. While much of the disaster assistance is church-in-need-specific, they have also had work teams for many years. They currently have two tent camp work team areas in Mississippi – Gauthier and Gulf Port. We would enroll on the web site and specify whether we prefer church-specific assignments or tent camp work team assignments. They currently operate 150 work teams. There are on the ground disaster recovery supervisors for the work teams. They plan to have additional work team areas by December. I hope this is helpful. Clarke
____
Situation Report
Hurricane Rita
DR000169
Hurricane Rita slammed into the Gulf Coast at Sabine Pass in the border
between Louisiana and Texas packing 120 mph winds and dumping more than 20
inches of rain on East Texas and South Louisiana. New Covenant Presbytery
Executive Mike Cole is anxiously awaiting word on the state of the churches
in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange, Texas. We have not yet received word
of the storm's effects on Lake Charles, Louisiana and the area south of New
Orleans. Flooding is widespread.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT) member Bill Neely, Pastor of
First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, NC, is traveling to New Covenant
Presbytery (Houston, TX) to begin the early assessment process and provide
support and pastoral care; bringing words of hope from the PC(USA). Rev.
John A. Robinson, Jr., PDA National Associate, is already on his way to
Baton Rouge to meet with the Presbytery of South Louisiana and give support
to the PDA Team that has been in place since early September: Rev. Bobb
Barnes, George and Marian MacNeill, Rev. Kristine Peterson and Rev. Dick
Krajeski. Rev. Jim Kirk will also be arriving Monday, September 26th to
begin a long-term deployment in South Louisiana Presbytery.
PDA continues support for volunteer efforts in Mississippi Presbytery, and
all six Presbyteries in Florida are still in the midst of recovery from the
series of Hurricanes that battered that state in 2004.
PDA stands ready to support presbyteries in responding to the
unprecedented dislocation and devastation from the 2005 hurricane season,
and in bringing Hope out of chaos.
Those wishing to respond financially may do so by designating gifts for
U.S. Hurricane Response, DR000169.
Donations may be sent through normal mission giving channels. Gifts by
credit card can be made by calling PresbyTel at (800) 872 3283 or online at
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/donate/accounts.htm. Checks payable to
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can also be mailed directly to:
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
100 Witherspoon St.
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
Please keep the affected people and those assisting in the recovery
process in your prayers.
____
As we agreed last night, please fill out and return the skills inventory
document to me by this Friday evening, September 30. I will compile and
send the results.
Keith downloaded the Salvation Army template and modified it
into a Prince of Peace document - while we were sitting at POP in the
meeting! This is very impressive. Thanks Keith.
Keith has provided the web link that will take you directly to the
document. It follows. I have also attached the pdf file that Keith
provided should that be more convenient for you. You may e-mail the
document to me, drop it by the house, or mail it.
If you can't get to this
by Friday, please send it when you can. I also plan on being in church
on Sunday.
For those of you who did not attend last night, we had three additional
possible volunteers - Nancy and Tom Frank and Tom Luscher.
I will continue to try to get through to the Salvation Army national
office disaster team and ask them about: (1) housing; (2) opportunity
for evening organized time for the POP group; (3) their ability to deal
with some of us coming for different periods of time (e.g., 3 days, 7
days, 10 days); and (4) how much flexibility we have to choose among
their disaster sites. Once I get answers to these questions and compile
and submit the skills inventory, we need as a group to decide whether we
have preferences for where we go.
For those of you who did not attend last night, our next meeting is
Monday, October 10, 7:30 pm. Jon will not be with us but Jon will select
a facilitator for the meeting. The public relations and fund raising
team will be meeting tonight.
Clarke
___
Dear Gabriele:
I hope that your back recovers quickly.
It is my understanding that we are not meeting until next Monday, October 10, 7:30 pm. At least that is what I communicated in my last week meeting summary that Jon commented on.
I have prepared a skills inventory summary for Clive , Tom and Nancy , Mary Kay , and myself. Because of my technology challenges, I have not been able to easily download in a quickly understandable format the responses of those of you who directly loaded your inventory on Keith's web site. Keith hopes to get to this tonight and send me a form I can use. I hope to be able to merge the two documents tomorrow and have them out to you all by tomorrow night or Wednesday morning.
[I am also not retaining any of the responses. I do not believe that any of us should have driver’s identification information on others in our group. Fortunately, many of you did not share this information. If we decide on the Salvation Army and assuming that they desire this information for some type of security reason, we each can directly and confidentially provide the information to them at the appropriate time. My summary will only include the name of the respondent, the skills and interests, and the occupations.]
The Salvation Army disaster headquarters staff finally responded to me this morning, by referring me to their southeastern director. I will share their response to our five questions (including Jon’s about the opportunity to work on housing clean-up/repair/reconstruction) when I receive them. They are mostly on the ground and not easily available.
I hope this is helpful.
Clarke
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gabriele
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 3:34 PM
Subject: Monday 10/03/2005
I hurt my back yesterday (moving mom into her condo) and it’s gotten worse as the day has progressed. I don’t think I’ll be in shape for tonight’s meeting. I’m very sorry about this – but this is what I have to report regarding media attention for our Katrina Outreach Mission.
There is interest in our mission but all ask the same question: what are you going to be doing? I explain that this will likely be answered this week (and if not, we’ll at least be affiliated with a group and that is something, at least) and I’m to get back to various folks and begin arranging for articles (“Capital” “Gazette” “Bowie Whatevers”). There is some interest in an ongoing article, with updates on our progress and certainly when we go and/or come back.
So, count my vote as you see fit – I trust in our Lord and in my fellow POP members to make a sound and worthy decision!
Whoever is taking care of The Group (spirit, emotions, medical, etc.), may I offer a suggestion? How about an Inspirational Concert (open to the public, well-publicized in local media) around early December to put our group in the inspired state-of-mind, bring the community in a enjoyable manner, maybe even have an enormous “card” for attendees to sign, offer support and love, and we take and offer to the community we’ll be in. Just a thought….
There is a “blog” on the POP site for us to write in and for those who have been down south to offer their experiences. I will get the word out that this exists (local radio stations, print, word-of-mouth to fellow Christians) and let’s see what wisdom and guidance others can offer!!!! Many thanks to Keith for creating it!!! You are a whiz-bang in computerland!!!
The logo is in the works – bless you Mary Kay!!! If anyone knows a printer ( and tee-shirt producer!!! We can have tee-shirts!!!!) who could donate man hours, paper, ink, etc. for producer flyers, let me know. We need graphics on the flyer as well, which I think I can handle – I may ask for help for a buddy graphic artist who brought me to God, so I know she would LOVE to help.
Sorry if this is running of the mouth/mind, but I’ve got to get this out while I can – work and pain are becoming one big blur!!
May you feel our Father’s presence, inspiration and grace tonight!
Hugs,
Gabriele
___
Dear Group:
I am just sharing a thought for our meeting next week. I think that we should reconsider the Salvation Army as our host site.
There are at least three reasons for stating this:
(1) Nancy has a friend who has worked in New Orleans. Please note her observations about the Salvation Army (and working in the disaster areas in general).
(2) I tried calling the Salvation Army national disaster coordinator for two weeks – the line was busy and I could not get through. I then e-mailed him. It took a while to receive a reply. He replied by referring me to the Southern region director, who has not replied. They are over-whelmed with demands and mostly out-of-their offices on the ground and generally not available. I can’t get answers to our questions. Without answers it is difficult to make plans and decisions.
(3) After our last meeting, Jon stressed his personal interest in housing clean-up, repair, and reconstruction. If this is the direction we want to go, then Mennonite Disaster Assistance and Habitat for Humanity would seem the more logical choices. Mennonite Disaster assistance has the advantages of being a faith program, having distinct project sites, and providing housing within personal homes of local Mennonite members. Jon: I think we need guidance from you, our leader: do you want to focus on housing restoration and are you personally comfortable with Mennonite Disaster Assistance?
Below are the memo from Nancy’s friend and my unsuccessful communication with the Salvation Army disaster assistance officials. Should I receive a response from the Salvation Army before Monday’s meeting, I will forward it.
Clarke
Skip the Salvation Army. Get hooked up with Habitat for Humanity. They are physically trying to rebuild homes that are not directly on the Gulf. Can't get near there until it's decontaminated. Red Cross is a joke. Again, accommodations for people going down is scant and will be, especially around Christmas. Best bet - if you get hooked up with HH, drive RV's down and stay further up in the parks. Having a sponsor first is paramount or a pre-strike team to make sure your efforts are put to good use. Walmart has a gizzilion trucks that go down to distribution centers, so you may want to call Walmart HQ.
There are also some Episcopal Church's doing some good work, but at Christmas time, I would imagine their schools will be up and running and their centers closed.
Moi aussi
-------Original Message-------
From: Nancy
Date: 10/04/05 07:35:16
Thanks for the info......that is exactly what Tom and I and most of the groups concerns were. I will forward your email to everyone. We're seriously looking at the Salvation Army as they have the most coordinated efforts. None of us want to get down there and have nothing to do, nowhere to stay, etc. All of the folks going down are full time employees, business owners, time is precious so we want to be sure all our ducks are in a row before we get down there. Your email just cements what most of our concerns are.
You, you're good you!
Moi
Hello.
I volunteer for the Ministry Site Logistics/Coordination group.
My contacts at the Salvation Army and Mennonite Central Committee are actually in the Gulf Coast States and thus I have made no progress in obtaining detailed information on how they are structuring their disaster and recovery assistance.
A friend and work colleague is on the Crofton Kiwanis board of directors. They meet tonight. They are discussing where the Crofton Kiwanis can invest their funds in Gulf Coast disaster and recovery assistance. He will inform the board of the POP group. Once we have details of precisely what we will actually do and where we will actually go, he believes that they will help finance our work – not our travel and basic support, but help finance the actual support given on the ground when we go.
I hope that this helpful.
Clarke
____
Hello.
I spoke with the executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee and checked the Mennonite Disaster web site (www.mds.mennonite.net), have a call into the Salvation Army and checked their web site (www.salvationarmyusa.org), checked the Presbyterian Church site (www.pcusa.org/katrina) and spoke with the vice president of the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation.
All three faith-based organizations have places for volunteers to register. The Salvation Army has the most structured volunteer registration form - they ask for emergency medical skills, occupations, list 20 skill areas, ask about previous disaster training, and ask about vehicle qualifications. I suggest we print out the Salvation Army form and use it to identify our own cluster of skills. The 20 skill list would be very helpful to us. Jon: please let me know if you want me to print this form out and bring copies to the Sept 26 POP meeting.
The Salvation Army has the most structured disaster response mechanism. There are identifiable local and regional disaster service programs. There are Hurricane Katrina disaster sites in AL, LA, MS, and TX. What I personally like about the Salvation Army is: All disaster response teams are "coordinated and directed by commissioned officers and trained personnel." It is appealing to me personally to arrive at a pre-determined disaster site and have an experienced disaster professional directing the work. It also appears that they can match our skills and interests in a coordinated program.
The Mennonite Disaster Service has a concrete list of projects where they need help. Their "focus is on clean up, repair, and rebuilding homes." They emphasize the contining work that they are doing, in areas such as Arcadia, Wauchula, and Century, Florida. Their only current Hurricane Katrina projects are chainsaw crews in Mobile, AL and Meridan and Gulport, MS. They are exploring projects in Bayou la Batre, AL and New Orleans. They also have project leaders, experienced in recovery work. I particularly like that in all Mennonite disaster project areas they provide housing for all volunteers. Thus, there would be no need to locate housing and we would be automatically connected to families and other volunteers.
The Presbyterian site says that "as soon as work sites are ready we will be contacting registered teams to schedule them." In looking at previous work sites, it appears that they basically identify Presbyterian churches that have called for help. It appears that they assist a few other Presbyterian non-church sites, such as camps and retreats. If I heard Jon correctly when we last met and if I read the web site correctly, it appears that Jon would work out with a Presbyterian pastor what services could be helpful.
In speaking with the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation, they have a preference in financing concrete and specifically proposed activities. They have a historic relationship with Habitat for Humanity. They are having an internal discussion about whether they want to break their traditional role of financing projects centered in Anne Arundel County. They are interested in considering an application for financial assistance to support a Prince of Peace based Gulf Coast recovery trip if we are clear on who the local sponsor is, what we will do once there, what we are financing ourselves, and what precisely will their funds pay for. They are very interested but may decide to retain their financial support within the county.
I hope this information is helpful. Clarke
____
Hello.
I spoke with the executive director of the Mennonite Central Committee and checked the Mennonite Disaster web site (www.mds.mennonite.net), have a call into the Salvation Army and checked their web site (www.salvationarmyusa.org), checked the Presbyterian Church site (www.pcusa.org/katrina) and spoke with the vice president of the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation.
All three faith-based organizations have places for volunteers to register. The Salvation Army has the most structured volunteer registration form - they ask for emergency medical skills, occupations, list 20 skill areas, ask about previous disaster training, and ask about vehicle qualifications. I suggest we print out the Salvation Army form and use it to identify our own cluster of skills. The 20 skill list would be very helpful to us. Jon: please let me know if you want me to print this form out and bring copies to the Sept 26 POP meeting.
The Salvation Army has the most structured disaster response mechanism. There are identifiable local and regional disaster service programs. There are Hurricane Katrina disaster sites in AL, LA, MS, and TX. What I personally like about the Salvation Army is: All disaster response teams are "coordinated and directed by commissioned officers and trained personnel." It is appealing to me personally to arrive at a pre-determined disaster site and have an experienced disaster professional directing the work. It also appears that they can match our skills and interests in a coordinated program.
The Mennonite Disaster Service has a concrete list of projects where they need help. Their "focus is on clean up, repair, and rebuilding homes." They emphasize the contining work that they are doing, in areas such as Arcadia, Wauchula, and Century, Florida. Their only current Hurricane Katrina projects are chainsaw crews in Mobile, AL and Meridan and Gulport, MS. They are exploring projects in Bayou la Batre, AL and New Orleans. They also have project leaders, experienced in recovery work. I particularly like that in all Mennonite disaster project areas they provide housing for all volunteers. Thus, there would be no need to locate housing and we would be automatically connected to families and other volunteers.
The Presbyterian site says that "as soon as work sites are ready we will be contacting registered teams to schedule them." In looking at previous work sites, it appears that they basically identify Presbyterian churches that have called for help. It appears that they assist a few other Presbyterian non-church sites, such as camps and retreats. If I heard Jon correctly when we last met and if I read the web site correctly, it appears that Jon would work out with a Presbyterian pastor what services could be helpful.
In speaking with the Crofton Kiwanis Foundation, they have a preference in financing concrete and specifically proposed activities. They have a historic relationship with Habitat for Humanity. They are having an internal discussion about whether they want to break their traditional role of financing projects centered in Anne Arundel County. They are interested in considering an application for financial assistance to support a Prince of Peace based Gulf Coast recovery trip if we are clear on who the local sponsor is, what we will do once there, what we are financing ourselves, and what precisely will their funds pay for. They are very interested but may decide to retain their financial support within the county.
I hope this information is helpful. Clarke
___
I spoke with Beth, assistant to Susan Ryan, Coordinator, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance, at the Louisville Presbyterian Church headquarters. While much of the disaster assistance is church-in-need-specific, they have also had work teams for many years. They currently have two tent camp work team areas in Mississippi – Gauthier and Gulf Port. We would enroll on the web site and specify whether we prefer church-specific assignments or tent camp work team assignments. They currently operate 150 work teams. There are on the ground disaster recovery supervisors for the work teams. They plan to have additional work team areas by December. I hope this is helpful. Clarke
____
Situation Report
Hurricane Rita
DR000169
Hurricane Rita slammed into the Gulf Coast at Sabine Pass in the border
between Louisiana and Texas packing 120 mph winds and dumping more than 20
inches of rain on East Texas and South Louisiana. New Covenant Presbytery
Executive Mike Cole is anxiously awaiting word on the state of the churches
in Beaumont, Port Arthur and Orange, Texas. We have not yet received word
of the storm's effects on Lake Charles, Louisiana and the area south of New
Orleans. Flooding is widespread.
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance Team (PDAT) member Bill Neely, Pastor of
First Presbyterian Church, Greenville, NC, is traveling to New Covenant
Presbytery (Houston, TX) to begin the early assessment process and provide
support and pastoral care; bringing words of hope from the PC(USA). Rev.
John A. Robinson, Jr., PDA National Associate, is already on his way to
Baton Rouge to meet with the Presbytery of South Louisiana and give support
to the PDA Team that has been in place since early September: Rev. Bobb
Barnes, George and Marian MacNeill, Rev. Kristine Peterson and Rev. Dick
Krajeski. Rev. Jim Kirk will also be arriving Monday, September 26th to
begin a long-term deployment in South Louisiana Presbytery.
PDA continues support for volunteer efforts in Mississippi Presbytery, and
all six Presbyteries in Florida are still in the midst of recovery from the
series of Hurricanes that battered that state in 2004.
PDA stands ready to support presbyteries in responding to the
unprecedented dislocation and devastation from the 2005 hurricane season,
and in bringing Hope out of chaos.
Those wishing to respond financially may do so by designating gifts for
U.S. Hurricane Response, DR000169.
Donations may be sent through normal mission giving channels. Gifts by
credit card can be made by calling PresbyTel at (800) 872 3283 or online at
http://www.pcusa.org/pda/donate/accounts.htm. Checks payable to
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) can also be mailed directly to:
Presbyterian Disaster Assistance
100 Witherspoon St.
Louisville, KY 40202-1396
Please keep the affected people and those assisting in the recovery
process in your prayers.
____
As we agreed last night, please fill out and return the skills inventory
document to me by this Friday evening, September 30. I will compile and
send the results.
Keith downloaded the Salvation Army template and modified it
into a Prince of Peace document - while we were sitting at POP in the
meeting! This is very impressive. Thanks Keith.
Keith has provided the web link that will take you directly to the
document. It follows. I have also attached the pdf file that Keith
provided should that be more convenient for you. You may e-mail the
document to me, drop it by the house, or mail it.
If you can't get to this
by Friday, please send it when you can. I also plan on being in church
on Sunday.
For those of you who did not attend last night, we had three additional
possible volunteers - Nancy and Tom Frank and Tom Luscher.
I will continue to try to get through to the Salvation Army national
office disaster team and ask them about: (1) housing; (2) opportunity
for evening organized time for the POP group; (3) their ability to deal
with some of us coming for different periods of time (e.g., 3 days, 7
days, 10 days); and (4) how much flexibility we have to choose among
their disaster sites. Once I get answers to these questions and compile
and submit the skills inventory, we need as a group to decide whether we
have preferences for where we go.
For those of you who did not attend last night, our next meeting is
Monday, October 10, 7:30 pm. Jon will not be with us but Jon will select
a facilitator for the meeting. The public relations and fund raising
team will be meeting tonight.
Clarke
___
Dear Gabriele:
I hope that your back recovers quickly.
It is my understanding that we are not meeting until next Monday, October 10, 7:30 pm. At least that is what I communicated in my last week meeting summary that Jon commented on.
I have prepared a skills inventory summary for Clive , Tom and Nancy , Mary Kay , and myself. Because of my technology challenges, I have not been able to easily download in a quickly understandable format the responses of those of you who directly loaded your inventory on Keith's web site. Keith hopes to get to this tonight and send me a form I can use. I hope to be able to merge the two documents tomorrow and have them out to you all by tomorrow night or Wednesday morning.
[I am also not retaining any of the responses. I do not believe that any of us should have driver’s identification information on others in our group. Fortunately, many of you did not share this information. If we decide on the Salvation Army and assuming that they desire this information for some type of security reason, we each can directly and confidentially provide the information to them at the appropriate time. My summary will only include the name of the respondent, the skills and interests, and the occupations.]
The Salvation Army disaster headquarters staff finally responded to me this morning, by referring me to their southeastern director. I will share their response to our five questions (including Jon’s about the opportunity to work on housing clean-up/repair/reconstruction) when I receive them. They are mostly on the ground and not easily available.
I hope this is helpful.
Clarke
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: Gabriele
Sent: Monday, October 03, 2005 3:34 PM
Subject: Monday 10/03/2005
I hurt my back yesterday (moving mom into her condo) and it’s gotten worse as the day has progressed. I don’t think I’ll be in shape for tonight’s meeting. I’m very sorry about this – but this is what I have to report regarding media attention for our Katrina Outreach Mission.
There is interest in our mission but all ask the same question: what are you going to be doing? I explain that this will likely be answered this week (and if not, we’ll at least be affiliated with a group and that is something, at least) and I’m to get back to various folks and begin arranging for articles (“Capital” “Gazette” “Bowie Whatevers”). There is some interest in an ongoing article, with updates on our progress and certainly when we go and/or come back.
So, count my vote as you see fit – I trust in our Lord and in my fellow POP members to make a sound and worthy decision!
Whoever is taking care of The Group (spirit, emotions, medical, etc.), may I offer a suggestion? How about an Inspirational Concert (open to the public, well-publicized in local media) around early December to put our group in the inspired state-of-mind, bring the community in a enjoyable manner, maybe even have an enormous “card” for attendees to sign, offer support and love, and we take and offer to the community we’ll be in. Just a thought….
There is a “blog” on the POP site for us to write in and for those who have been down south to offer their experiences. I will get the word out that this exists (local radio stations, print, word-of-mouth to fellow Christians) and let’s see what wisdom and guidance others can offer!!!! Many thanks to Keith for creating it!!! You are a whiz-bang in computerland!!!
The logo is in the works – bless you Mary Kay!!! If anyone knows a printer ( and tee-shirt producer!!! We can have tee-shirts!!!!) who could donate man hours, paper, ink, etc. for producer flyers, let me know. We need graphics on the flyer as well, which I think I can handle – I may ask for help for a buddy graphic artist who brought me to God, so I know she would LOVE to help.
Sorry if this is running of the mouth/mind, but I’ve got to get this out while I can – work and pain are becoming one big blur!!
May you feel our Father’s presence, inspiration and grace tonight!
Hugs,
Gabriele
___
Dear Group:
I am just sharing a thought for our meeting next week. I think that we should reconsider the Salvation Army as our host site.
There are at least three reasons for stating this:
(1) Nancy has a friend who has worked in New Orleans. Please note her observations about the Salvation Army (and working in the disaster areas in general).
(2) I tried calling the Salvation Army national disaster coordinator for two weeks – the line was busy and I could not get through. I then e-mailed him. It took a while to receive a reply. He replied by referring me to the Southern region director, who has not replied. They are over-whelmed with demands and mostly out-of-their offices on the ground and generally not available. I can’t get answers to our questions. Without answers it is difficult to make plans and decisions.
(3) After our last meeting, Jon stressed his personal interest in housing clean-up, repair, and reconstruction. If this is the direction we want to go, then Mennonite Disaster Assistance and Habitat for Humanity would seem the more logical choices. Mennonite Disaster assistance has the advantages of being a faith program, having distinct project sites, and providing housing within personal homes of local Mennonite members. Jon: I think we need guidance from you, our leader: do you want to focus on housing restoration and are you personally comfortable with Mennonite Disaster Assistance?
Below are the memo from Nancy’s friend and my unsuccessful communication with the Salvation Army disaster assistance officials. Should I receive a response from the Salvation Army before Monday’s meeting, I will forward it.
Clarke
Skip the Salvation Army. Get hooked up with Habitat for Humanity. They are physically trying to rebuild homes that are not directly on the Gulf. Can't get near there until it's decontaminated. Red Cross is a joke. Again, accommodations for people going down is scant and will be, especially around Christmas. Best bet - if you get hooked up with HH, drive RV's down and stay further up in the parks. Having a sponsor first is paramount or a pre-strike team to make sure your efforts are put to good use. Walmart has a gizzilion trucks that go down to distribution centers, so you may want to call Walmart HQ.
There are also some Episcopal Church's doing some good work, but at Christmas time, I would imagine their schools will be up and running and their centers closed.
Moi aussi
-------Original Message-------
From: Nancy
Date: 10/04/05 07:35:16
Thanks for the info......that is exactly what Tom and I and most of the groups concerns were. I will forward your email to everyone. We're seriously looking at the Salvation Army as they have the most coordinated efforts. None of us want to get down there and have nothing to do, nowhere to stay, etc. All of the folks going down are full time employees, business owners, time is precious so we want to be sure all our ducks are in a row before we get down there. Your email just cements what most of our concerns are.
You, you're good you!
Moi
Something Clarke shared with us:
Subject: Watch the New SAMHSA Disaster Planning and Response Training-Available Online!
Those who experience and respond to disasters can be especially vulnerable to substance abuse and mental illness in the aftermath of the crisis. For this reason, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is developing a new series of programs aimed at providing crisis response professionals, public health officials, and others with information about how best to plan for and manage mental health and substance use components of their disaster response efforts.
The first two "ChimeraCasts" (enhanced Webcasts) are now available online through the SAMHSA Web site at http://www.samhsa.gov under the Latest News drop-down menu. The programs in this six-part series will address:
1. Key Concepts in Disaster Mental Health - Available now!
2. Managing Your Stress in Crisis Response Work - Available now!
3. Psychological First Aid - Available later this fall
4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Other Disaster-Related Issues: Long Term Reactions - Available later this fall
5. Child Trauma Related to Disasters for Schools - Available later this fall
6. Substance Use and Abuse Issues in Disasters - Available later this fall
New ChimeraCasts will be posted throughout the fall as they are completed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The vision of SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is to provide a life in the community for everyone by building resilience and facilitating recovery for people who suffer from or are at risk for substance abuse and mental illness.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Subject: Watch the New SAMHSA Disaster Planning and Response Training-Available Online!
Those who experience and respond to disasters can be especially vulnerable to substance abuse and mental illness in the aftermath of the crisis. For this reason, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is developing a new series of programs aimed at providing crisis response professionals, public health officials, and others with information about how best to plan for and manage mental health and substance use components of their disaster response efforts.
The first two "ChimeraCasts" (enhanced Webcasts) are now available online through the SAMHSA Web site at http://www.samhsa.gov under the Latest News drop-down menu. The programs in this six-part series will address:
1. Key Concepts in Disaster Mental Health - Available now!
2. Managing Your Stress in Crisis Response Work - Available now!
3. Psychological First Aid - Available later this fall
4. Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Other Disaster-Related Issues: Long Term Reactions - Available later this fall
5. Child Trauma Related to Disasters for Schools - Available later this fall
6. Substance Use and Abuse Issues in Disasters - Available later this fall
New ChimeraCasts will be posted throughout the fall as they are completed.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
The vision of SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is to provide a life in the community for everyone by building resilience and facilitating recovery for people who suffer from or are at risk for substance abuse and mental illness.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
We have had two meetings now and the group is excited (and a little tentative). Our first meeting focused on identifying the various activities that need to be organized. It basically broke down into site selection, getting the group ready, taking care of the group while we are there, and getting the word out so others might join us (or contribute in some other way). The second meeting was much more focused on identifying what organization we should hook ourselves up to (i.e. The Salvation Army, The Menonnites, Habitat for Humanity, etc.). Clarke has been getting some good information and emailing it, so I will add those next.
