Lutheran Disaster Response > Long-Term Recovery

LEARN MORE:  What is long-term Recovery?
Remember the Gulf Coast

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Can 2 + 2 = 5? Through a marvelous process called long-term recovery, it certainly can. Following a natural disaster, long-term recovery committees are formed to unite everyone behind some common goals, meeting unmet needs and restoring the community.

In short, a long-term recovery committee is a not-for-profit organization, formed as a sort of local recovery headquarters for a city or county.  Local leaders, like pastors or other volunteers, have the opportunity to influence how their community is restored by directing funding and other resources from response organizations to families in need.

More than two years after Hurricane Katrina, there are still thousands of people along the Mississippi Gulf Coast who have no place to call home. Charles, a construction supervisor with Lutheran-Episcopal Services, and Clinton, a Mennonite volunteer from Canada, sat down for lunch with an idea – the “Sweet 16" – building sixteen new homes by the end of March, just four months total. After conversations with other partners, they figured out a plan. The Lutherans would supply construction materials and supervision, and the Mennonites would supply the volunteer labor. Each project would also receive some funding from The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and other local agencies, making for a truly collaborative effort.

The project is now up and running with such smooth efficiency that at least
18 new homes will be completed in total. When we work shoulder to shoulder with neighbors, we can certainly do more together than any of us could have done alone. And we ask you to join us, through your contributions and prayers, in supporting local initiatives and magnifying the work of people like Charles and Clinton. With so many people involved, 2 + 2 really can equal 5.