General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region Forums"Help That’s Helpful: Do’s and Don’ts After Disaster" and where to donate/volunteer, pets
Written by a survivor of the 2012 Heneryville tornado and shared because I think it is really good. Volunteering, donations and stuff for pets is in my first reply rather than OP.
http://forthesomedaybook.wordpress.com/2013/05/21/help-thats-helpful-dos-and-donts-after-disaster/
All compassionate people want to respond, to help, to do something in response to tragedy. This impulse is good, because the people of Moore, Oklahoma will require outside aid, volunteers and resources to help them in their recovery. However, many well-meaning people and organizations give help that is far less than helpful, and may actually be harmful to the recovery process. I went looking tonight for a list of dos and donts for how to help after a disaster, but I didnt find any lists that were more specific than send cash, not stuff. So I made my own.
As one who has worked closely with tornado recovery efforts in the last 14 months, I would like to offer these DOs and DONTs, so that you can help in ways that are the most helpful, and avoid the ways that are not.
DO NOT
DO NOT send stuff, unless you specifically know it is wanted, needed and has a clear destination. The avalanche of used clothing, toiletries, canned goods, furniture and household supplies that pours in after a disaster can become a secondary disaster for a community, as organizations are forced to set aside the actual needs of survivors in order to attend to the mountains of stuff arriving at their doorstep. People who have lost their homes wont need household goods and furniture for many months, and dont have anywhere to cook your can of Campbells Chicken Noodle.
(Clip)
DO
DO: Donate money. But not just today. While organizations like Red Cross and Salvation Army do amazing work feeding and sheltering people in the immediate aftermath, they do not rebuild homes or communities. Local leaders and faith-based organizations pick up the work of long-term recovery, and they will need major dollars for construction, case management, survivor support and more. Sure, send $10 via text message today, but wait to mail a check for $100 or $1,000, and send it to groups involved in long-term recovery efforts. Be careful to give to reputable, established organizations only. No matter what your faith or cause, theres a group for you.
(MORE AT LINK)
uppityperson
(115,678 posts)niyad
(113,527 posts)uppityperson
(115,678 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)had the tsunami hit:
Global Giving - Oklahoma Tornado Relief Fund
I just donated to them this evening. They do good (and long-term) work
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)And that's a great list provided in the OP, especially with regard to long-term helping.
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)uppityperson
(115,678 posts)kentauros
(29,414 posts)The only other one to come to mind was the Salvation Army, and they're mentioned in the link. As I recall from donating to them for the Joplin disaster was that they also do long-term help.
uppityperson
(115,678 posts)sad-cafe
(1,277 posts)this is excellent.
it seems like everyone wants to do right now....and it will take a long while even a year or two to realize you need somethign and won't have the funds. There isn't a quick fix give money now and forget about it. People who go through these things will be years down the road and still have needs and can still be devestated.
Guilt plays a part as well. Wh was my house not as bad as theirs, why did we live when they didn't and all of that. All kinds of emotions will cover the span of years.
This link is awesome. Thank you
uppityperson
(115,678 posts)"We unloaded trucks, sorted food and house hold supplies and helped folks coming in to get those supplies. We took hot dogs--and mustard--sandwiches, drinks, snacks, leather gloves and various stuff to the streets. There were folks who have no way out of their neighborhood -no transport- and folks there to work on their homes."
And more. I made the mistake post-Katrina of shipping donated stuff that turned out to be useless at best. We want to help, to reach out, and figuring out how is difficult. My community raised a bunch of money for Red Cross which went into the general coffers, so then a bunch filled a bus with stuff and went down to help. It is all a learning experience and so many want to help, are grieving from afar.
It takes years to process within yourself after a disaster, and it is just weird. Hope you know what I mean. Best wishes to you and to all affected by this disaster. And the other tornadoes and crap. There is such potential for bad things to happen, people don't really need to do bad things to each other. Rambling, sorry.
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)uppityperson
(115,678 posts)hear those who died, but if it makes them feel better, I keep my thoughts to myself. It isn't about me but them.
Adding on to "not everyone will feel the same way you do". Be gentle. And thank you, that is really good.
winter is coming
(11,785 posts)up religion if I'm comforting someone unless they introduce the subject first. Even people with religious beliefs might not want/need that after a traumatic event, or perhaps they do, but not from me.