wfn.org | Post Charley: CWS Starting Florida Long Term Recovery Work Now

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

POST-CHARLEY STICKER SHOCK WILL SOON SET IN, SAYS AGENCY

Church World Service, Local Agencies Already Planning Long Term Recovery


ORLANDO/NEW YORK - Mon 8/30- Floridians emerging from the immediate
aftermath of Hurricane Charley are expressing comfort and thanks for the
presence and help of scores of relief agencies working there, but
humanitarian agency Church World Service says that sense of optimism is
already being tested as many realize that their homeowners' insurance or
government assistance packages won't be enough.

"As folks start getting their insurance checks and disaster funds from FEMA,
the financial realities can seem overwhelming" says Cherri Baer, a Church
World Service disaster response veteran who has joined the CWS team in
southeast Florida.

  "That9s when the optimism and toughness people are showing now really
begins to break down" in the typical phases of disaster recovery, says Baer.

The state of Florida has now confirmed a death toll of 28 as a result of the
hurricane. Nearly three weeks after the disaster, 164,852 residents have
registered with the Federal Emerency Management Agency (FEMA)  for disaster
assistance and eight emergency shelters are still open.

Based on past disaster experiences, says Baer, "The sense of comfort and
hope people feel now may turn to feelings of fear, abandonment and outright
panic for the many who are being challenged to completely rebuild their
lives and homes."

One of the first agencies called by FEMA in a national emergency along with
the Red Cross, Church World Service plays a specific role in long term
recovery for the under-insured, uninsured and vulnerable populations

A global humanitarian agency, in the U.S. CWS responds to natural and
human-caused disasters and works with local faith communities, social
service agencies and emergency management partners to establish ongoing
resources and support mechanisms for the underserved.

In Florida, Church World Service is anticipating long-term recovery groups
with faith community participation in 9-10 counties.

"The CWS-DRRL team's position on the ground during the emergency stage of
Hurricane Charley is a crucial time to begin to prepare communities,"
explains CWS9 Linda Reed-Brown, "so they will be able to manage the
long-term realities of this disaster." Brown is Associate Director for
Domestic Response in the CWS Emergency Response Program.

"By establishing early rapport with community churches, where many will turn
for help," she said,  "the transition into long-term recovery casework and
volunteer coordination will be much easier and more time-effective."

According to Miami resident and Church World Service Disaster Response and
Recovery Liaison Lesli Remaly, CWS is working with such groups as Florida
Interfaith Networking in Disaster (FIND), the Florida Voluntary
Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) and other Florida-based faith
partners to determine needs and develop a strategy for those who are finding
themselves without adequate resources.

CWS has awarded a seed grant to FIND, to initiate long-term recovery efforts
and facilitate accessing mitigation funds and programs on behalf of the
faith community.

Remaly is incident coordinator for the CWS response in Florida and
responsible for bringing together strategies for the CWS team, in an
extensive collaborative effort between CWS denominational members and
traditional CWS partners and agencies.

"Our primary goal," says Remaly, "is to ensure that faith community and
voluntary agencies have the tools and resources they need to handle the
massive amount of unmet need that is likely to surface in the months and
years to come.

"We know it will take three to five years for communities to fully recover
from this disaster.  We need to think in terms of long-term recovery- now."

As CWS and the Florida interfaith and VOAD organizations are developing long
range support systems, individual churches across southwest and central
Florida are already ministering to the storm9s victims too, although many of
those churches themselves suffered Charley9s blow.

Based on assessments of two-dozen communities completed 12 days after the
storm, Church World Service documented damage to some 57 houses of worship.
Denominational partners working with CWS are conducting their own damage
assessments of churches.

"It is also important that our responders also make contact with smaller,
independent churches," Remaly said,  "because they are our entrie into some
of the more isolated and vulnerable communities."

The CWS team is also identifying church camps and sites not damaged by the
storm that "might serve as centers to house the many volunteers who9ve come
from all over the U.S.

"This will free up public lodging space that may still be needed for the
thousands of people who have been displaced in southeast and central
Florida.

Of the largest domestic disaster in this country since 9/11, Remaly says,
"We'll be here as long as it takes. That's our job."

EDITORS NOTE: Please add the following source to your listings of agencies
accepting contributions for relief assistance to victims of Hurricane
Charley:

To support relief efforts for victims of Hurricane Charley through Church
World Service: phone (800) 297-1516; make a secure credit card contribution
online at www.churchworldservice.org; or send your check by mail to: Church
World Service, P.O. Box 968, Elkhart, IN, 46515

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CONTACTS:
Anne Walle/CWS/New York
Phone: (212) 870-2654
e-mail: awalle@churchworldservice.org

Jan Dragin/New York/Boston
Phone: (781) 925-1526 - 24/7
e-mail: jdragin@gis.net