CHICAGO (ELCA) -- A $6 million grant was awarded to Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) by "Katrina Aid Today," a national consortium of social service and volunteer organizations. LDR is one of 10 organizations to receive grants through the program, chosen from nearly 30 nonprofit disaster response agencies that applied.
Katrina Aid Today, administered by the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), consists of those 10 organizations. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Department for Homeland Security awarded nearly $66 million in grant monies for Katrina Aid Today.
UMCOR is the humanitarian relief and development agency of the United Methodist Church.
Hurricane Katrina survivors require help as they begin to rebuild, and applications and forms for addressing basic needs are often confusing and intimidating, said the Rev. Paul Dirdak, executive director, UMCOR. Katrina Aid Today is dedicated to helping survivors navigate the various systems and help them rebuild, he said.
Various partners in Katrina Aid Today will oversee some 3,000 professional and volunteer case managers who, after completing the UMCOR case management training, will help hurricane victims find financial support and recovery services through governmental agencies and nonprofit organizations.
The grant highlights the value of good case management in the wake of a disaster, said Heather L. Feltman, LDR director and director of ELCA Domestic Disaster Response. Case management -- promoting healing after a disaster through advocacy for people who have suffered losses -- is one of four basic core values of LDR, she said. Other LDR core values are providing hardship grants to supplement FEMA and Red Cross monies, spiritual and emotional care, and volunteer coordination, Feltman said.
In addition to LDR, other organizations that received funds are: Boat People SOS, Catholic Charities, Episcopal Relief and Development, the National Disability Rights Network, Odyssey House of Louisiana, the Salvation Army, the Society of St. Vincent DePaul, United Methodist Foundation of Louisiana and Volunteers of America.
LDR will work under the leadership of UMCOR and FEMA in various locations -- not only in hurricane-affected areas, but also in those areas that have experienced increases in population because of the numbers of displaced Americans living around the country.
LDR is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.
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* Michael Nevergall is associate for program interpretation, Lutheran Disaster Response
Information about Lutheran Disaster Response is at http://www.ldr.org on the ELCA Web site.
Information about Katrina Aid Today is at http://www.katrinaaidtoday.org/ on the Web.
For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or news@elca.org
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog
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About the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America:
The ELCA is one of the largest Christian denominations in the United States, with 2.8 million members in more than 8,500 worshiping communities across the 50 states and in the Caribbean region. Known as the church of "God's work. Our hands.," the ELCA emphasizes the saving grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, unity among Christians and service in the world. The ELCA's roots are in the writings of the German church reformer Martin Luther.
For information contact:
Candice Hill Buchbinder
Public Relations Manager
Candice.HillBuchbinder@ELCA.org
