Katrina Open Arms Fund - The Community Foundation for the

Katrina Open
Arms Fund
REPORT TO DONORS
JANUARY 2007
Introduction
On August 28, 2005, the nation’s worst natural disaster in decades struck the Gulf Coast. Within days, it became
clear that the impact of Hurricane Katrina would extend far beyond those communities struck by 30-foot storm
surges, the homes pummeled by 140 mile per hour winds, and countless neighborhoods flooded by the failure
of levees throughout New Orleans. The nation as a whole was called upon to help hundreds of thousands of
individuals and families whose lives were uprooted. Across the country, communities opened their arms, their
homes and their hearts to assist evacuees from the Gulf Coast. The National Capital region was among them
– providing resources and supports to help evacuees stabilize their lives and begin the road to recovery. The
Community Foundation for the National Capital region established the Katrina Open Arms Fund to help coordinate
this region’s philanthropic response to the evacuees arriving in our community. This report describes the results
achieved by the Fund and offers lessons for future responses.
Evacuees came to every jurisdiction throughout the Washington region by varied means. In all, close to
7,000 individuals came to the Washington region as evacuees. The charts below outline where evacuees
initially sought shelter:
Katrina Open Arms Fund: Report to Donors
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They came not only from New Orleans, but from across the Gulf Coast, predominantly from Louisiana and
Mississippi. Though there were some individual adults who arrived on their own, the majority of evacuees came
with other relatives. Most were African-American. In addition, a large Asian-American population was impacted and
arrived in the Greater Washington region.
While a vast array of resources was made available to evacuees through both public and private efforts, the
needs exceeded the support available. As with many disasters, one of the greatest needs was for assistance in
navigating the myriad of systems and processes established to provide support to evacuees.
Among the national and local response efforts was the Katrina Open Arms Fund, established by The Community
Foundation for the National Capital Region. Building on its experience from the September 11th terrorist attacks
and its role in creating the Survivors’ Fund and the Nonprofit Emergency Preparedness Task Force, The Community
Foundation worked to ensure that donors’ contributions were coordinated to address the wide array of evacuees’
needs. The Katrina Open Arms Fund provided direct assistance and support to hundreds of Katrina-impacted
families. At the same time, the Fund equipped local nonprofit organizations with resources to leverage generous
support from across the region.
The Katrina Open Arms Fund
Ten nonprofit organizations received funding from the Katrina Open Arms Fund to provide an array of services to
evacuees. In addition to grant dollars, the Fund also convened grantees to increase the coordination of service
delivery across the region. The Fund helped to support a range of needs, from immediate response to long-term
recovery. Grants funded:
• The local chapter of the American Red Cross provided immediate emergency assistance to 6,997 individuals
(3,973 families) through their various emergency service centers across the region. These centers served as
the entry point for evacuees to access additional services available through FEMA as well as the private and
nonprofit sectors.
• 264 families across the region received intensive case management services coupled with direct assistance.
These services were provided by Lutheran Social Services in Maryland and the District of Columbia;
Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs, Northern Virginia Family Service, Reston Interfaith, and United
Community Ministries in Virginia, and Boat People SOS serving Asian American evacuees across the region.
In addition to the intensive support to help evacuees navigate the complex assistance programs available to
them, these agencies also were able to provide direct assistance that included:
• Housing
• Furniture
• Food
• Clothing
• Transportation
• Mental health services were delivered directly to 89 individuals via the William Wendt Center for Loss
and Healing. In addition to providing individual and group counseling, the Center responded to psychiatric
emergencies, served as a resource for other agencies working with Katrina evacuees, and sent two children
who had lost a loved one to its grief camp.
• Job readiness training was made available through the Menz Fit and the Montgomery County Housing
Opportunities Commission. Together, these agencies helped more than two dozen adults with skills assessment
and career planning training, interviewing workshops, placement assistance, and professional clothing required
both for interviewing and for reporting to work.
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The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Public-Private Collaboration
Fairfax County government spearheaded a coordinated response involving multiple agencies that is worthy of
exploration for replication in future incidents. The County provided funding to Northern Virginia Family Service to
coordinate the case management services for Katrina evacuees across the county. In addition to direct services
to those evacuees in their own area, Northern Virginia Family Service also partnered with two other Fairfax County
service providers, Reston Interfaith and United Community Ministries.
Through this coordinated response, the three agencies were able to use the same processes for client intake,
assessment of critical and immediate needs, and long-term planning toward self-sufficiency. While each agency
was able to manage the cases in its jurisdiction, shared instruments and data around available resources
ensured that evacuees throughout Fairfax County received the same access to information and services regardless
of which agency’s door they entered.
Agencies in other jurisdictions noted the need for coordination. The failure to do so meant that caseworkers needed to fit learning from their peers, as well as sharing what they themselves were learning, on an already full plate.
The result: a slower delivery of services to victims of Katrina in these jurisdictions, according to casemanagers.
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Immediate Emergency Response
Over the course of several weeks in September and October of 2005, several thousand individuals came to the
National Capital Area via an array of means. The most high-profile arrivals were those relocated to the D.C. Armory.
Others, however, came on their own to be with or near family or friends. Still others resettled through the complex
network of social service organizations, emergency response agencies, and faith-based and voluntary organizations
active in disasters (VOADs).
The Community Foundation directed 11.5% of the Katrina Open Arms Fund to assist the National Capital Chapter
of the American Red Cross to address the immediate emergency needs of evacuees. Throughout the Greater
Washington region, the American Red Cross served 6,997 people representing 3,973 families. Funds from the
Katrina Open Arms Fund were pooled with other contributions from individual and institutional donors to fund a
massive response to the needs of evacuees upon their arrival. This response included the mobilization of 2,325
volunteers across nine jurisdictions to provide direct assistance, connect evacuees with a FEMA case number
(a critical resource for accessing public and private resources over the course of the following year), and help
individuals navigate the complex assistance networks as they struggled to cope with their trauma and losses in a
new, foreign community. This phase of assistance was critical to bridge evacuees’ arrival in the National Capital
Area to the more complicated, yet equally critical, long-term recovery process.
Long-term Recovery:
Case Management Coupled with Direct Assistance
The majority of the Fund’s resources were invested in long-term recovery efforts for several reasons:
• The flood of resources pouring in from both the private and public sectors around the country primarily targeted
the emergency needs of victims of Hurricane Katrina. The American Red Cross and FEMA each committed
billions of dollars to emergency needs nationally. Hundreds of additional sources of support were made
available immediately after the storm.
• Experience with the Survivors’ Fund suggested two powerful phenomena of which the National Capital Area
needed to be aware. First, the needs of evacuees were going to extend far beyond the 90- or 120-day periods
that were initially discussed by FEMA and others addressing evacuees’ immediate needs. In addition, as
donations would predictably dwindle, evacuees’ needs would continue to evolve. Clearly supports would be
needed over a long-term period. Experience from the Survivors’ Fund demonstrated that victims of trauma
don’t always know what they need immediately; that navigating through the array of available services and
resources, while essential, adds to the stresses victims experience; and that through a thoughtful, guided case
management process, victims of trauma are able to maximize the value of limited resources available from
varied sources to address their complex needs.
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The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Leveraging Additional Resources
All of the Katrina Open Arms Fund grantees described a powerful ability to leverage the Fund’s contributions to
secure additional resources benefiting the individuals and families with whom they worked. Specifically, several
discussed how the continuity of connections with evacuees through the case management process allowed them
to know what families needed. This was especially important to connect resources to families when they became
available. It also allowed grantees to be clear and specific in response to the critical question that flooded providers
0for months from both caring individuals and institutions: “How can I help?”
Lutheran Social Services was able to do this with dozens of Katrina evacuees in both the District of Columbia
and in Maryland. For instance, one evacuee, Ms. Jones (not her real name) came to the region with her three
grandchildren, all of whom she was caring for after the death of her daughter in 2004. Her own elderly mother also
was evacuated to Maryland from the care facility in which she lived in Louisiana. Back home, Ms. Jones cared for
the children in her own Section 8 housing. She had never officially adopted the children, so technically she was
authorized for Section 8 housing only for herself, not for the children. Her Lutheran Social Services case worker
worked with her to secure the needed death and birth certificates allowing her to secure housing for her entire
extended family and to apply for the housing her family needed. The case worker also secured household support
for Ms. Jones so that she could be with her mother when her mother experienced a medical condition that required
an extended hospitalization.
Throughout her time in Maryland, Ms. Jones’s case worker has been by her side and has secured additional
resources from several different sources. Currently, Ms. Jones and her family are preparing to move into a house.
Because she fully understood Ms. Jones’s situation, her case worker helped to secure donations of furniture and
household goods needed to establish a new home. Individuals who have wanted to help Katrina evacuees will be
volunteering to assist with the move. And, through a generous donation, all three of Ms. Jones’s grandchildren will
receive free tutoring to help them catch up with their peers in their new schools.
For Ms. Jones, the value of the case management and support services she received extends far beyond navigation
of the complicated waters to secure affordable housing. They serve as the foundation on which she can build her
home, not only for herself, but also for the three grandchildren for whom she is caring. The end result is that their
family is able to start again in a community that has demonstrated repeatedly its caring nature – allowing the Jones
family to call the National Capital Area home.
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Mental Health Services
In Washington, DC, the Katrina Opens Arms Fund provided the William Wendt Center for Loss and Healing with
resources to provide critically needed mental health services to Katrina evacuees including:
•Individual and group counseling sessions at the D.C. Armory. As evacuees migrated from the Armory and into
communities, the Wendt Center offered these services on the campus of the former D.C. General Hospital;
•Individuals who experienced psychiatric emergencies were referred to the Wendt Center by other organizations;
•Children who lost a loved one were able to attend the Center’s bereavement camp – a therapeutic experience
embedded within the fun and play traditionally associated with summer camp – facilitating the healing process
for these young people.
In addition to the direct services to individuals and families who needed mental health services, clinicians from
the William Wendt Center provided consultation to case managers from across the region. This was especially
important for those evacuees who could not access counseling because of logistical barriers (e.g., lack of
transportation) or who were in jurisdictions where mental health services simply were not available. The gathering
of Katrina Open Arms Fund grantees and biweekly calls among agencies serving evacuees provided an additional
opportunity for the Wendt Center staff to share their particular expertise – thus extending their impact across the
region.
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The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
Short-term Response: $40,000
American Red Cross: $40,000
Jurisdiction
Cases
Alexandria
126
230
Arlington
133
250
Fairfax
549
1129
Loudoun
237
517
Prince William
206
426
VA Service Center
175
331
Armory
451
565
Air Force Retirement Home
368
369
DC
594
842
DC General
47
58
Montgomery
459
1052
Prince George’s
628
1228
Total
3973
6997
Long-Term Recovery: $249,500
Individuals Served
(case management plus direct financial support)
Agency
Grant
Individuals Served
Families Served
United Community Ministries
$42,000
175
73
Northern Virginia Family Service
$45,000
66
25
Reston Interfaith
$40,000
111
46
Lutheran Social Services
$75,000
209 (estimated)
87
Boat People SOS
$37,500
79 (estimated)
33
Arlingtonians Meeting Emergency Needs
$10,000
19 (estimated)
8
Estimates for those reporting families served were derived from 2.4 individuals/family.
Five agencies were each awarded a grant to provide case management, ensuring services throughout all three
major jurisdictions (D.C., Maryland, and Virginia). Each agency’s grant included an additional pool of funds for
direct assistance at their discretion with few limitations to give those working directly with Katrina evacuees the
flexibility and the resources to fill gaps of unmet needs after tapping other sources. One agency with specialized
expertise and extensive experience working with the Asian-American community was given resources to serve this
special population, a powerful model for outreach to other populations in the event of future disasters.
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Mental Health Support: $45,900
William Wendt Center for Loss and Healing: $45,900
Type of Service
Individuals Served
Crisis Response Phase 30
Ongoing therapy
4
Group Services
53
Camp
2
TOTAL
79
Job Readiness: $19,600
Agency
Grant Individuals Served
Menz Fit
$7,500
22
Housing Opportunities Commission
$2,100
8
Total Grants: $345,000
Conclusion: Lessons Learned
In retrospect, the Katrina Open Arms Fund reinforced some of the most basic values of our community by
demonstrating once again that the National Capital Region is filled with compassionate, dedicated individuals
and institutions willing to open their doors, their wallets and their hearts to assist people whose lives were, in
many cases, virtually swept away by Katrina’s unforgiving waters. Equally important, we were reminded that when
tragedy strikes, the models of response and recovery created and practiced by the region’s nonprofits, working
collaboratively with the public and corporate sectors, increase our to ability help those in need regain some degree
of stability.
At the same time, the experiences of the Katrina Open Arms Fund raised several pressing, unanswered questions.
Does our region have sufficient case-management capacity to help victims of a disaster navigate the complex,
and often frustrating, system of services as they struggle with their grief and loss? How clearly do providers in
each jurisdiction convey information to colleagues in order to prevent duplication of services? While coordination
efforts were helpful, challenges remain for organizations dedicated to alleviating the suffering of victims of future
disasters. The experiences of the Katrina Open Arms Fund must be integrated with those of other emergency
response and recovery agencies across the region if we are to improve our disaster preparedness. In doing so,
we will maximize our collective potential to ensure the safety and well-being of the millions of people who call the
Washington metropolitan area home.
Funders of the Katrina Open Arms Fund
Barbara Bush Foundation for
Family Literacy
Clein/Leman Esperanza Fund
Creative Learning, Inc.
Patricia W. Fagen
Fannie Mae Foundation
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Freddie Mac Foundation
Gary and Rosalyn Jonas Fund
Mr. and Mrs. Jorge Kfoury
Marks Fund
Meltzer Group
Robert & Dee Metz Sharing Fund
Sallie Mae
Robert H. Sirmans
Barry & Evelyn M. Strauch Foundation
Summit Fund of Washington
Benjamin Wallace Charitable Lead Trust
Whelpley Family Fund
The Community Foundation for the National Capital Region
1201 15th Street NW
Suite 420
Washington, DC 20005
202.955.5890
202.955.8084 FAX
www.thecommunityfoundation.org