wfn.org | CWS Readies Wilma Response

["Lesley Crosson" <lcrosson@churchworldservice.org>]

CWS Still in Gulf Coast for Katrina and Rita Recovery, Readies Response
for Hurricane Wilma

October 23, 2005
NEW YORK - As monster Hurricane Wilma begins its trek across the Gulf of
Mexico toward southwest Florida after a prolonged two-day pounding of
Cancun, Mexico, the humanitarian agency Church World Service (CWS) said
today it is prepared to respond with emergency aid and long-range recovery
assistance in affected areas.

Wilma is expected to reach the Florida coast by late tonight or early
Monday morning. Meteorologists are warning of dangerous storm surges in
the Keys and further danger from tornadoes as the storm hits a cold front
moving in from the north.

Church World Service disaster responders are already on site in Gulf Coast
areas devastated by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, still responding to the
protracted emergency relief needs of many survivors who lost everything
and for whom long-term recovery continues to look a long way off.

Anticipating another major hurricane in a region that is also still
recovering from last year's multiple major storms, Associate Director for
Domestic Emergency Response Linda Reed Brown says, "We are there, we will
be there again, and we'll provide all we possibly can."

"It's true," she said, "that we've experienced a record number of
disasters worldwide this past year, and agencies and Americans have poured
out their hearts and resources to an amazing degree. But," says Brown, "as
Americans, we know that we can and always will find ways to help those in
need."

One of the first agencies called out nationally following domestic
disasters, Church World Service provides material resources such as
emergency clean-up kits, health kits, and blankets, and focuses on
long-term recovery needs for the most vulnerable survivors in disaster-affected communities--including those without insurance, the poor, the
elderly, the disabled, and minority groups.

CWS's Brown says, "As needs become evident from any damage sustained by
Wilma, our responders will work with local faith communities, support the
formation of self-standing long-term recovery groups, and will request
emergency relief supplies as needed." Church World Service "Gift of the
Heart" Health Kits and CWS Blankets are positioned for shipment.

Hurricane Wilma was briefly one of the most intense storms ever recorded
in the Atlantic Ocean. On Wednesday (Oct 19), Wilma briefly reared its
head to a Category 5 level, roaring across parts of Cuba, Honduras,
Belize, Jamaica, Haiti, and the Cayman Islands, losing intensity but
pounding the Mexican coast at Cancun for the past two days.

Church World Service was instrumental in building recovery capacity among
vulnerable and under-served populations in Florida last year following the
record 2004 hurricane season. FIND (Florida Interfaith Networking in
Disasters) and other long-term recovery groups are continuing to respond
to emergencies and recovery efforts, drawing from skills and procedures
presented in Church World Service Interfaith Trauma and Response Trainings.
Elsewhere along the Gulf Coast, other established long-term recovery
partners such as Terrebonne Readiness Assistance Coalition and the
Louisiana Interchurch Conference are helping Katrina's and Rita's
survivors rebuild their lives; and Church World Service is working with
recovery groups that will serve elsewhere in Mississippi and Alabama.

Church World Service is also assisting Katrina's and Rita's evacuees as
they move to new communities, working in collaboration with CWS's existing
network of refugee resettlement agencies in ten sites across the U.S.

Humanitarian organization Church World Service responds to natural and
human-caused disasters internationally and domestically, and is currently
responding to the devastating South Asia earthquake emergency.

Contributions may be made online or by calling (800) 297-1516, or sent via
regular mail to:

Church World Service
CWS Gulf Hurricanes 2005
P.O. Box 968
Elkhart, IN 46515

Media Contacts:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676; lcrosson@churchworldservice.org
Jan Dragin (24/7), 781-925-1526; jdragin@gis.net