"They give up their vacation time and spend their hard–earned money to get here. Then they sleep on a floor or in a tent, and get up every morning to spend 12 hours shoveling muck out of houses. And not the houses of their neighbors or friends, mind you, but complete strangers. And to top it off, at the end of their time, they say ‘Thank you so much for this opportunity,’ and they leave with tears in their eyes. Can you believe it?"

Donna has a hard time believing it, as she tells anyone who asks. Donna lives in southern Mississippi. After Hurricane Katrina damaged her home and left her jobless, she began working for Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) in Biloxi. One of Donna’s duties is helping to schedule volunteer service groups, and she is amazed that they just keep coming.

Even in the midst of a new hurricane season, we cannot forget the devastation of a year ago. It is predicted that the rebuilding process in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita, and Wilma will take as long as 10 years. Lutheran Disaster Response (LDR) continues to serve those affected through the four core components of disaster ministry: spiritual and emotional care, hardship grants, volunteer coordination, and long–term rebuilding.

Spiritual and emotional care
The first core component of LDR’s ministry is meeting the spiritual and emotional needs of those affected. This includes both the disaster survivors and those who provide care and support to survivors. In addition to the standing LDR spiritual and emotional care committee, a team of disaster–certified chaplains is on call to be deployed in ministry to survivors and volunteers and to relieve local clergy.

Lutheran Disaster Response has a special concern for the needs of children affected by disaster. Camp Noah, a program of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota supported by LDR, helps children process their fears through Bible lessons and games. Camp Noah held nearly 100 week-long camps this summer in communities along the Gulf Coast.

Hardship grants
In the time immediately following a disaster, LDR provides financial assistance to individuals, regardless of religious affiliation, through hardship grants. These grants help cover everyday costs such as housing, transportation, food, child care, and utilities, allowing survivors some security as they work to recover. More than $300,000 in hardship grants has already been distributed to families along the Gulf Coast since Hurricane Katrina. Fifteen congregations also received hardship grants.

Volunteer coordination
The volunteer response to Hurricane Katrina has been amazing, and groups from around the country continue to plan work trips for the months and years to come. In the six months after the storm, Lutheran Disaster Response coordinated more than 400,000 hours of volunteer service along the Gulf Coast, the equivalent of more than $7 million of donated time. In partnership with local affiliates, LDR has established more than a dozen volunteer housing sites in Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. These "camps" provide a place for volunteers to stay, eat, and receive their work assignments.

A highlight of the volunteer effort was the "What a Relief!" drive, the first LDR alternative spring break for college students.

In March 2006, nearly 1,100 students representing 54 U.S. colleges and universities traveled to the Gulf Coast and Florida for an intense week of volunteer work. The students were organized by campus pastors, Lutheran campus ministry sites, and community service organizations. To learn about assembling a work crew from your congregations or community, visit www.ldr.org

Long–term recovery
Lutheran Disaster Response is committed to the long–term recovery of the hurricane–affected areas. Long–term recovery means both physical and emotional rebuilding. While volunteers work to clean up and rebuild homes, Lutheran Disaster Response also employs case managers to help survivors as they navigate post–disaster paperwork and other practical issues. In late 2005, LDR was named as one of nine grantees in "Katrina Aid Today," a case management consortium administered by the United Methodist Committee on Relief, FEMA, and the U.S. Department for Homeland Security.

Since Hurricane Katrina, more than $24 million has been generously given to the response efforts. By the end of 2006, approximately $18 million will have been disbursed to the LDR affiliates responding.

Your contributions to disaster relief have made a difference in the lives of people in difficult and sometimes desperate situations. Michael D. Nevergall is associate for program interpretation with Lutheran Disaster Response.