United Methodists plan long-term work in Gulf region
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Sunday
school classrooms at Hartzell United Methodist Church in New Orleans'
Lower Ninth Ward lie in ruins more than six months after Hurricane
Katrina ripped through the area.
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Sunday
school classrooms at Hartzell United Methodist Church in New Orleans'
Lower Ninth Ward lie in ruins more than six months after Hurricane
Katrina ripped through the area. United Methodists expect to be
involved in the Gulf Coast Hurricane recovery work at least until
January 2012 as reported at the April 3-6 meeting of the United
Methodist Board of Global Ministries. UMCOR has nearly completed the
relief phase of the operations and will begin the long-term recovery
phase on April 17. A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo #06338.
Accompanies UMNS story #202. 4/7/06 |
April 7, 2006
By Linda Bloom*
STAMFORD, Conn. (UMNS) — United Methodists expect to be involved in Gulf Coast Hurricane recovery work at least until 2012.
An overview of
that work was presented to directors of the United Methodist Board of
Global Ministries during the mission agency's April 3-6 meeting.
As of Feb. 28, the
denomination had raised $63.8 million, through the United Methodist
Committee on Relief, in response to the 2005 hurricane season. In
addition, $7.6 million of relief and emergency supplies were shipped
from UMCOR's supply depot to the church's annual (regional) conferences
in the Gulf region.
UMCOR has nearly
completed the relief phase of its operations on the Gulf Coast, reported
Bishop Edward Paup of Seattle, president of the relief agency's board
of directors. The long-term recovery phase will begin April 17 and is
projected to continue to January 2012.
The Rev. Paul
Dirdak, UMCOR's chief executive, explained to board directors that the
disaster response agency provides three types of assistance – direct
aid, family problem-solving, and rebuilding.
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBose Six
months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Lower Ninth Ward of New
Orleans, the sanctuary of Hartzwell United Methodist Church shows no
signs of recovery.
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Six
months after Hurricane Katrina ravaged the Lower Ninth Ward of New
Orleans, the sanctuary of Hartzwell United Methodist Church shows no
signs of recovery. United Methodists expect to be involved in the Gulf
Coast Hurricane recovery work at least until January 2012 as reported at
the April 3-6 meeting of the United Methodist Board of Global
Ministries. UMCOR has nearly completed the relief phase of the
operations and will begin the long-term recovery phase on April 17. A
UMNS photo by Mike DuBose. Photo #06339. Accopanies UMNS story #202.
4/7/06 |
Thirty to forty
percent of United Methodist gifts provide for direct aid, such as
payments for rent, utilities and child care. Trained case managers
assist with family-by-family problem solving.
UMCOR is the lead
agency in Katrina Aid Today, a $66 million initiative sponsored by the
Federal Emergency Management Agency, and is training 3,000 professional
staff and volunteers who will assist 100,000 families displaced by
Hurricane Katrina.
As of Feb. 1, some
$6.5 million already had been spent by UMCOR for hurricane assistance.
During the spring meeting, UMCOR directors approved a total of $52.3
million to support recovery work in a seven-state area devastated last
year by multiple hurricanes. Direct assistance was the largest funding
category in each budget submitted by the annual conferences.
The Louisiana
Conference has a central recovery center; offices in Metairie, Slidell,
West Bank and New Orleans primarily serving the Katrina response and
offices in Abbeville and Lake Charles serving the Rita response. UMCOR
directors approved a grant of $14.7 million for work through March 2008
and earmarked another $3.5 million April 2008 to March 2009.
The Mississippi
Conference is coordinating work in five regions – the Pascagoula area,
the Gulfport area, the Biloxi area, counties just north of the Gulf
Coast and the rest of the state – and has a resource center in Meridian.
They will receive a grant of $8.45 million, with another $2.1 million
earmarked for 2008-2009.
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A UMNS photo by Mike DuBoseWrecked
homes and storm debris line the streets in New Orleans' Lower Ninth
Ward more than six months after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the
area. |
Wrecked
homes and storm debris line the streets in New Orleans' Lower Ninth
Ward more than six months after Hurricane Katrina ripped through the
area. United Methodists expect to be involved in the Gulf Coast
Hurricane recovery work at least until January 2012 as reported at the
April 3-6 meeting of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries.
UMCOR has nearly completed the relief phase of the operations and will
begin the long-term recovery phase on April 17. A UMNS photo by Mike
DuBose. Photo #06340. Accopanies UMNS story #202. 4/7/06 |
The Texas
Conference established a recovery office in Beaumont for its Hurricane
Rita response. Satellite offices will be set up in Port Arthur, Orange
and Silsbee County. The conference will receive $2.85 million, with just
under $1 million set aside for later.
That conference
also has formed a partnership with Grace Ministries, a local
organization, to assist vulnerable Katrina evacuees living in Texas.
Grace Ministries will receive $3.2 million from UMCOR, with another
$878,363 earmarked for April 2008-March 2009.
Among other
hurricane-related grants allocated by UMCOR directors are $1.8 million
for the Alabama-West Florida Annual Conference for Hurricane Katrina
work; $1.58 million to the Florida Annual Conference for its long-term
disaster recovery program and $102,900 to the North Carolina Annual
Conference for its Hurricane Ophelia recovery program.
Also approved was
$750,235 for work related to the damage caused by Hurricanes Stan and
Beta in Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua. An additional
$749,765 was earmarked for long-term recovery projects in that region.
*Bloom is a United Methodist News Service news writer based in New York.
News media contact: Linda Bloom, New York, (646) 369-3759 or newsdesk@umcom.org.
Audio Interviews
Bishop Edward Paup "This work will be going on until 2012."
The Rev. Paul Dirdak "Forty percent of the gifts are used for family costs."
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