Conference establishes UM Storm Center to aid in recovery

     The La. Annual Conference, in response to the overwhelming communication and response needs resulting from Hurricane Katrina, has established the Louisiana United Methodist Storm Center.
      The Center will be housed on the second floor of the Conference Area Offices in Baton Rouge , and will be staffed from 8 a.m.-7 p.m. , Monday-Friday.
     "The Center's focus is to connect resources with requests for help. People are offering volunteers services, goods and monetary donations. Through the Center, these offers will be matched up with the many requests for assistance that will be generated by survivors of Hurricane Katrina," said Gordon Knuckey, Disaster Response Field Consultant for United Methodist Committee on Relief.
     Knuckey, along with Christy Smith of UMCOR, was in Baton Rouge this week assisting the La. Annual Conference with the establishment of the Storm Center and the development of an overall response plan to what has been termed the "worst natural disaster in the history of the United States .
   The Center will house staff to manage incoming calls and disperse requests; representatives of UMCOR; conference emergency response staff; and representatives of related agencies such as Church World Service who are making frequent trips to the Conference Area Offices in Louisiana .
     A Steering Oversight Committee met Saturday in Baton Rouge under the leadership of Bishop William W. Hutchinson. An overall response plan has been developed which addresses long-term recovery in three separate regional areas of the state which were affected by Hurricane Katrina. Recovery offices will eventually be established in each of these regions.
     The initial focus for the Conference is on immediate relief, prompting the establishment of the Storm Center. With the help of UMCOR, Louisiana is connecting with other annual conferences in the general church and with governmental and faith based agencies in order to coordinate efforts, avoiding duplication.
     "In addition to providing effective resources, one of our greatest focuses is providing spiritual and emotional care to pastors and church members and to communities at large," said Bishop Hutchinson.
     Church leadership and emergency personnel are coordinating with UMCOR on how to relate to evacuees and the issues that they face regarding decisions on returning home or resettling in other communities.
     "The effects of Huricane Katrina in the New Orleans area breaks all the rules. Right now, it remains to be seen who will decide how New Orleans gets rebuilt. In the city, there are lots of renters. If landlords decide not to rebuild, they have no place to return to. Tens of thousands of people live in federal housing projects that have been destroyed. The path to recovery has yet to be determined," said Knuckey.
     "The evacuation of New Orleans is an unprecedented 'diaspora,' or dispersal, of people in this country," said Smith.
     Both Knuckey and Smith emphasized that the initial relief phase will be much longer than normal, and that the long term recovery phase may last up to five years. "Right now, the water must be gotten out and the recovery of bodies must be completed," said Knuckey.
     In working with other governmental and faith based agencies, UMCOR has traditionally led the way in case management. "Our expertise is holding the hands of those persons who cannot recover from this event on their own. Their needs may involve windows, doors and walls. They might need spiritual and emotional support. We are there to advocate, to assist, and to help frame ways to make each persons recovery process fit their personal needs," said Smith.
      Although UMCOR and other national and international agencies are flooding the New Orleans area with support, Smith emphasizes that recovery happens locally. "Government can only do so much. Most successful recoveries occur in communities which embrace the survivors and their needs. The church brings sanity to that process, walking across bridges to bring people together."
      Disasters like Hurricane Katrina produce three separate phases of recovery--the rescue phase, the relief phase and long-term recovery. "The emergency phase is still not over. When people can start to return to their communities, then the relief phase can begin with things like debris removal. The long term recovery will involve creating permanent housing solutions for survivors," said Knuckey.
      Both UMCOR representatives emphasized that after other agencies have completed their missions, their organization stays on the job for the "long haul." "We like to say we are here until the last nail is driven," said Smith.