A lack of bureaucracy made churches “the true first responders” when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast last year, a new survey found, but a little more coordination could have made them even more effective.
Churches and other places of worship that responded quickly to the hurricane learned lessons about disaster preparedness that could benefit all faith communities, the researchers at Louisiana State University (LSU) in Baton Rouge, La., concluded.
Daphne Cain and Juan Barthelemy, assistant professors in the LSU school of social work, worked with the LSU Public Policy Research Lab to survey congregations in southern Louisiana about their response to Katrina. Almost 160 churches representing 19 denominations completed the survey.
Of those that responded, more than 86 percent provided services of some kind to Katrina evacuees. “It was readily apparent that churches were able to mobilize volunteers very effectively and very rapidly,” Cain said.
To a large degree, faith communities can respond quickly in times of disaster because they have ready access to volunteers who serve others as an expression of their religious devotion, she noted. “For religious communities of all creeds, a central teaching is to go and help,” Cain said.
The call to help the less fortunate motivates Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) disaster relief volunteers, said Tommy Puckett, disaster relief coordinator for Alabama through the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions.
“I think [Southern Baptist disaster relief] is a modern-day parable of the good Samaritan — of not caring what faith, color or creed a person is who is in need,” he said. “Our people care for those who are hurting because Jesus first cared for us.”
Through organized teams at the church, associational and state levels, the SBC’s North American Mission Board (NAMB) trains and coordinates volunteers to respond to disasters nationwide and, at times, overseas. Currently more than 50,000 trained volunteers work in 730 mobile units, or teams, providing food, child care, cleanup and other services to those in need, according to NAMB’s Web site. Puckett said this structure allows SBC disaster relief to coordinate manpower and resources as effectively as possible.
In Louisiana, the churches surveyed lacked the red tape of government agencies and that enabled them to respond quickly after the hurricane, Barthelemy noted. “Once they determined they wanted to provide a service, all they had to do was just go and do it. They didn’t have to go through a lot of red tape.”
Nearly three-fourths of the surveyed churches offered food, more than half gave away clothing and about 70 percent provided financial aid. Churches also gave counseling, transportation, child care and shelter for evacuees, as well as provisions for relief workers. Congregations also provided spiritual aid.
“Even in the face of losing everything, religious leaders encouraged their congregations to ‘pray when [their] world is falling apart,’” researchers wrote.
Addressing the problems of displacement and exile, religious leaders urged those with homes to welcome strangers “as Jesus would have.” Significantly the religious communities welcomed evacuees as “family” rather than as objects of charity, they noted.
“… [T]his study helps us to see just how much we owe the religious leaders and congregations in our area who repeatedly sacrificed time and money to soothe the minds, bodies and souls of fellow Louisianans,” the researchers’ report concluded.
In the ministry of soothing souls, Puckett added that the greatest witness Christians have is the quickness of their response after disaster hits. Being trained and prepared can make a difference in the timing and quality of the help churches can offer, he said.
NAMB offers manuals, worksheets and presentations on associational, church and family preparedness through its Web site at www.namb.net/dr. Click on the church preparedness and family preparedness links for information, and visit the manuals/resources link for further resources. (ABP, TAB)
Churches suggest ways to prepare
Churches surveyed in southern Louisiana following Hurricane Katrina (see story, this page) offered suggestions for how faith communities can be prepared for natural disasters. Many of the suggestions echo advice given by the disaster relief ministry of the North American Mission Board through its church and family preparedness resources on its Web site, www.namb.net/dr.
To improve communication between organizations, the churches suggested that each congregation have a disaster plan and a designated disaster team. To facilitate coordination of efforts, surveyed congregations also suggested keeping a contact list of churches from all denominations.
And while the American Red Cross may use large churches for shelter and aid distribution sites, small churches can help by offering specialized services and by preparing and distributing meals.
Tommy Puckett, disaster relief coordinator for Alabama through the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, recommended that those churches wanting to serve as shelters should invite the Red Cross to inspect their facilities to learn what they need to have in place. The Red Cross can also evaluate how many people the church can accommodate and for what length of time.
The survey also noted that churches should:
• Have emergency contact information for members so ministers can check on their safety and ask them to volunteer.
• Maintain lists of specialized service providers within their membership.
• Develop a technology team able to perform database and Internet searches to help people reunite after a disaster.
• Keep handy the contact information for denominational agencies that help provide disaster relief.
• Develop travel plans to reunite people, whether across town or across the country.
• Designate a location and organization to receive, sort through and store supplies and donations.
• When building or renovating a church facility, consider adding showers, kitchens, ramps and large, multipurpose auditoriums.
• Request financial donations and designate people to purchase items that are difficult to obtain through donation drives such as perishables, personal hygiene items, socks and underwear. Also consider buying in large quantity seasonal items such as coats, backpacks and school supplies.
• Store immediate-response items on site, including flashlights, cots, air mattresses, emergency water and at least a one-day supply of nonperishable food.
• Have telephones, long-distance lines, computers and Internet access to help evacuees reunite with family.
• Know a congregation’s limits. Don’t overextend or exhaust resources and storage capacities. (ABP, TAB)
Share with others: