BATON ROUGE, La. (ABP) — 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 concluded.
Improved disaster-response coordination and communication within and between churches would help faith communities avoid costly and ineffective duplication of services, surveyed congregations told researchers.
Daphne Cain and Juan Barthelemy, assistant professors in the LSU School of Social Work, worked with the LSU Public Policy Research laboratory to survey congregations in southern Louisiana about their response to Katrina. Almost 160 churches representing 19 denominations completed the survey.
Of the churches 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 taught to serve other people as an expression of their religious devotion, she noted. “For religious communities of all creeds, a central teaching is to go and help,” she said.
Lack of bureaucracy — particularly in contrast to government agencies — also enabled churches to respond quickly after the hurricane, Barthelemy added.
“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,” he said.
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 meals, showers and housing for relief workers. The congregations also provided spiritual aid and comfort, researchers noted.
“Even in the face of losing everything, religious leaders encouraged their congregations to ‘pray when [their] world is falling apart,'” researchers wrote in a summary of their findings. “God's mercy, they pointed out, is most often ‘found in times of great distress.'”
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.
“While all of us in the region have heard stories of enormous sacrifice and generosity, this 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,” a report written by the researchers concluded.
Churches offered advice to other congregations in their survey responses, based on lessons learned through trial and error.
To improve communication, the churches suggested that each congregation have a disaster plan and a designated disaster team. To facilitate coordination, surveyed congregations also suggested keeping a contact list of churches from all denominations. 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.
Churches also should:
— Gather emergency contact information for every member so ministers can check on their safety and use them for volunteers.
— Maintain updated 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 store and receive supplies and donations. And expect to sort though massive amounts of donations.
— When building or renovating a church facility, consider adding showers, kitchens, ramps and large, multi-purpose 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. Congregations can provide cell phones and laptops.
— Know a congregation's limits. Don't overextend or exhaust resources.
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