ELCA NEWS SERVICE

June 5, 2008  

Lutherans Address Disaster Preparedness for Low-Income Communities
08-080-MRC

     CHICAGO (ELCA) -- Communities in the United States and
around the world are banding together to offer relief after the
many natural disasters witnessed in the first part of 2008.  But
for many low-income communities, recovery after disaster presents
its own challenges.
     "Low-income communities are already under assault" before a
natural disaster strikes, according to Loretta Horton, director
for poverty ministries networking, Evangelical Lutheran Church in
America (ELCA) Church in Society.  She said most low-income
communities are impacted by racism, classism and disinvestment.
"There's a lack of and/or the removal of resources such as
schools, hospitals, fire houses, libraries, post offices, banks
and other infrastructures, most of what middle-income communities
take for granted," she said.
     "So when there's a natural disaster on top of communities
that are already locked out of the economic process, a disaster
just wreaks havoc on these communities, creating a situation
that's even more unbearable," Horton said.  "Poor people don't
have the political clout in some communities to demand the
services and attention that their communities deserve.  They
remain invisible."
     Horton said that many people who are affected by natural
disasters either domestically or globally, live in poor
communities.  "You can survey ZIP codes here in the United States
and almost predict where the greatest needs are going to be
following a natural disaster," said Horton.
     One of the greatest challenges, especially in communities
with "negative social issues like poor housing and lack of
adequate health care, is that disaster planning is at the bottom
of the needs hierarchy," said Horton.  "How do we help people
start planning ahead of time, because it's not a matter of 'if'
a disaster strikes?  It's a matter of 'when.'"
     To help address the need for disaster preparedness in low-
income communities, the Poverty Ministries Networking program and
ELCA Domestic Disaster Response will host a consultation June 13-
14 on disaster planning and preparedness in St. Louis.  The
consultation is supported with funds from the ELCA World Hunger
Program.
     The consultation will bring together members of the ELCA
from across the country and the U.S. Virgin Islands to examine
what the church is already doing in responding to the needs of
low-income communities when disaster strikes, share stories and
compare and contrast experiences, and develop ways to mobilize
community resources.
     Disaster planning and preparedness in low-income communities
is essential to ensure continuity of services, said Horton.
     Tempie D. Beaman, disaster response coordinator, Lutheran
Social Services of the Southwest, Los Angeles, will serve as a
trainer at the consultation.  "The working poor are often living
from paycheck to paycheck, while others are on fixed incomes or
receiving government assistance.  They do not have extra money to
get them through a disaster, (particularly) if they are unable to
get to work or their employer shuts down," she said.  "When a
disaster strikes, what little community resources that were
available pre-disaster must stretch further or may become
unavailable."
     For Laurie Christian, program director for Teen Line and
disaster response coordinator, Lutheran Social Services of the
Virgin Islands, Inc., (LSSVI), Frederiksted, St. Croix, "Those of
us who live in the U.S. Virgin Islands are very well aware of the
importance of advance preparation for hurricane season.  We are
not only prime candidates for hurricane-related disasters but
also reside in an area that is vulnerable to earthquakes."
Christian will participate in the consultation.
     LSSVI's involvement in disaster response has taken many
forms, said Christian.  "After Hurricanes Hugo, Marilyn and
George, we operated volunteer rebuilding programs on the islands
of St. Croix, St. Thomas and Puerto Rico," she said.  "Through
various disasters, we have operated a post-disaster community
assessment and crisis intervention program, distributed food and
other supplies, and ran an impromptu shelter for 150 people,"
said Christian.  "We are vigilant and pray for the best while
also preparing for the possibility of the worst," she said.
     According to the Rev. Kevin A. Massey, director, ELCA
Domestic Disaster Response, "People living in poverty are often
forced to dwell in more vulnerable places, such as low-lying
areas prone to flooding.  Also, many of the ways people evacuate
when disaster is looming are not available to people without
means.  We saw in Hurricane Katrina how devastating it can be
when good planning doesn't happen on how to help people evacuate
who don't have cars."
     Massey called the consultation on disaster preparedness for
low-income communities "groundbreaking.  Seldom have so many
knowledgeable people involved in poverty ministries gathered with
the dedicated purpose to brainstorm ways that we can better serve
the needs of people in low-income communities."
- - -
     Information about ELCA poverty ministries is at
http://tinyurl.com/5w2sje on the ELCA Web site.

     Audio of Horton's comments is at
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/080604.mp3 on the ELCA Web site.

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
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