Gulf Coast Volunteer Opportunities: Our Help is Still Needed

Cross-posted from my Katrina recovery blog, The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan in New Orleans. The original post has pictures. Also cross-posted to Daily Kos and MyDD.

This post provides links and contact information for volunteering on Hurricane Katrina recovery in New Orleans and the wider Gulf Coast region . The emphasis is on the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana's Office of Disaster Response (that's where I worked for several months), but I've provided information for a number of other organizations, as well, both Christian and secular.

If your church, college program, or other group is interested in spending a few days or more helping out in New Orleans, or if you're interested in a long-term recovery internship, God bless you. The Gulf Coast really needs it. I can't count the times I was told, "Thank God you're here! If it wasn't for you church people and faith-based groups, nothing would ever get done!" If you're thinking about volunteering but haven't made your mind up yet, please read this post, and peruse these.

Click here for information on specific volunteer opportunities with the Episcopal Diocese of Louisana. The Diocese will provide you with the tools you need and with free housing, though you need to come up with your own transportation and food. Opportunities include gutting and rebuilding houses, helping with the mobile respite care unit (basically a distribution center, which I helped run for several months), community activities at St. Paul's or St. Luke's, helping with various soup kitchen or meals-on-wheels type programs, or traveling with the St. Anna's Mobile Medical Mission (a free RV clinic). The current volunteer coordinators are Susan Foto (sfoto@edola.org) and Darlene Davillier (ddavillier@edola.org). Contact them to set up your trip after you've read through the ODR's website.

If you're intersted in a long-term internship, Foto and Davillier might be the people to contact, although you might also try Katie Mears, who runs the gutting/rebuilding program, at kmears@edola.org. It can't hurt to include them all in the "to" field. Interns lead gutting and rebuilding crews, live in a house uptown, and recieve a small stipend.

I've provided detailed contact information for the ODR because it is the outfit I myself worked with. There are a number of other solider volunteer groups, however, and I'm sure you can find contact information at their websites:

Specific Volunteer Jobs at Volunteermatch.org

Evangelical Free Church of America

Presbyterian Disaster Assistance

United Church of Christ Volunteer Opportunities

Hands on New Orleans
Hands on Gulf Coast
(Much of Dartmouth College's volunteering is done through the Hands On network.)

Common Ground Collective
For more information - My Blog Entry on Common Ground

ACORN

Habitat for Humanity

Americorps

Cross-posted from my Katrina recovery blog, The Wayward Episcopalian: Nathan in New Orleans. The original post has pictures. Also cross-posted to Daily Kos and MyDD.