Helping the victims

The news is pretty ugly on the day following Hurricane Katrina’s broad stab into Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Hundreds are feared dead and a million may be homeless. The water is rising in New Orleans and it may take weeks to pump it out.

Massive government and corporate resources are already being deployed, but Katrina’s victims will also need substantial assistance from nonprofit organizations.

The largest of these organizations is the American Red Cross. This is generally the best resource for individuals who want to help with the most immediate needs of Katrina’s victims.

Catholic Charities USA has sent technical assistance teams “to help the local Catholic Charities in the impacted areas with their response efforts.”

On its website, Catholic Charities says that “while local agencies along the Gulf Coast anticipate that they will be provide some type of emergency assistance in their communities, Catholic Charities' niche in disaster relief is to provide long-term recovery work. In fact, Catholic Charities agencies in Florida are still providing services to help people recover from last year's devastating hurricanes.

“Based on past disasters, possible long-term services that Catholic Charities may provide include temporary and permanent housing, direct assistance beyond food and water to get people back into their homes, job placement counseling, and medical and prescription drug assistance.

“Recovery work is underway in Dade County, FL, where Katrina caused extensive flooding when it stuck there last week. Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Miami has already distributed a large load of baby items, food, and other supplies to victims. Other aid that they will be providing includes assistance with food, shelter, rent, medicine, utilities, and mental health counseling.

“To help communities recover from the damage brought on by Hurricane Katrina, Catholic Charities USA is collecting financial donations that will fund agencies' emergency and long-term disaster recovery efforts.”

UPDATE - From the USCCB: "Bishop William S. Skylstad, President of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), has announced that a National Collection for Hurricane Relief will be taken up in the 195 Catholic dioceses throughout the United States."

SECOND UPDATE - The Salvation Army and other organizations have also been active.

Personally, given the enormity of this disaster, I believe donations are most effective with organizations that have sufficient infrastructure to help on a massive scale.

Donors should always verify the reputation of any charity. http://www.give.org/ and http://www.guidestar.org/ are excellent resources for this purpose.