June 5, 2008

CHICAGO – 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.

ELCA News Service