EMM and ERD make progress in Katrina Relocation Project

Episcopal Relief and Development is working with Episcopal Migration Ministries to relocate families displaced by Hurricane Katrina in the first phase of recovery. ERD’s support of these efforts is helping dioceses overwhelmed by the growing number of people displaced from their homes in the Gulf Coast region.
 
The project is making connections in 53 dioceses. Families are being matched with sponsoring parishes and are beginning to rebuild their lives in communities throughout the United States. So far, 10 dioceses have already received families evacuated after the hurricane. Many other families are in the process of being matched with suitable parish sponsors.

The project is in various stages of examining partnership opportunities. EMM expects that as shelters are closed and makeshift arrangements become more tenable, families will begin exploring the possibility of a temporary relocation until they can better assess their prospects for returning home.  
 
“The partnership with ERD permitted EMM to be on the ground and in the game early to connect parish sponsors with especially needy Katrina evacuees,” explained Richard Parkins, Episcopal Migration Ministries Director. “This arrangement will continue to allow the Episcopal Church to translate the generosity of many parishes into tangible acts of hospitality for those eager to move on with their lives.”
 
With the needs of the hurricane victims in mind, EMM and ERD are working with dioceses across the southeastern border of the United States to identify persons whose prospects of returning home at this time are bleak and who are willing to accept hospitality outside the region, even if only for a few months.  By providing technical support and training to dioceses now hosting large number of evacuees, this joint effort is equipping local churches in host communities to provide a more organized and sustainable program of transitional assistance and private, independent living spaces to evacuees. For more detailed information on the relocation project, please visit www.episcopalchurch.org/emm.
 
In Beaumont, with the help of volunteers from local parishes, EMM was able to identify a number of persons who have since been relocated to communities where Episcopal parishes have offered sponsorship. Unfortunately, the Beaumont initiative was interrupted by Hurricane Rita. Efforts are now underway to offer sponsorship opportunities to groups of displaced persons now in Baton Rouge, Little Rock, Birmingham, Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin, Memphis, Atlanta and New York.
 
“Our partnership will help the evacuees return to some measure of normalcy while reconstruction continues in the devastated Gulf Coast region,” explained Robert W. Radtke, President of ERD.

To support ERD’s Hurricane Response or other programs, please donate at
http://www.er-d.org/.
Episcopal Relief and Development is the international relief and development agency of the Episcopal Church of the United States. An independent 501(c) 3 organization, ERD saves lives and builds hope in communities around the world. We provide emergency assistance in times of crisis and rebuild after disasters. We enable people to climb out of poverty by offering long-term solutions in the areas of food security and health care, including HIV/AIDS and malaria.