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Coordinating and Helping Katrina Victims

The initiative is called: Project Across America
Please READ this entire message THEN visit the forum --- Taking-Action.org --- to discuss the ways we all can work together to take action. This is not a venting forum -- this is a PROBLEM SOLVING, WORKING TOGETHER TO MEET NEEDS Forum.
At the end of this message you will also find a yahoo listserv working group as well for those who have talents to loan.

The concept is to "distribute families" to communities throughout America and to organize coordinated resources within those communities to help these families begin the process of rebuilding their lives.

Introduction

The problems we are witnessing in the aftermath of Katrina are not just short term issues. These serious problems will continue on a long term basis. Our proposal is to help the situation in the Gulf Coast states byinviting communities across the country to participate in hands-on assistance. The past methods for managing disasters will not work in this case because so much has been lost – and nearby communities have been quickly overwhelmed.

INCIID was a pioneer in mobilization via the Internet and we now stand together with others in this arena to coordinate and take action in order to once again harness and leverage the power of the internet and other technologies. By using these technologies we can get assistance to those on the front lines and distribute the efforts across America into smaller – more manageable proportions.

One of the big issues is where to send the victims. The current solution is to take them and 'dump' them in the closest surrounding cities - in effect creating additional disasters. This is happening currently – in Houston and Baton Rouge.

Our proposal is for towns across the country to organize local relief efforts to take a certain number of families into their own communities. They would locally make preparations to food, clothe, house etc. these families - and let our central database know how much they could handle. Then local Red Cross and other rescue organizations could use this database to assign the designated number of people/families to the waiting reception location - not just in Louisiana and Mississippi - but other states.

The idea would be that these areas would plan to help these families for 6 months minimum (the minimum estimated time before the devastated areas have a chance to be inhabited again). Perhaps those families will decide not to go back to their Louisiana and Mississippi homes. But in the meantime they will have the ability to start rebuilding their lives within a supportive community with the resources to help them.

This would spread out the hands-on help that can be offered - and more importantly - it can be offered in a secure and safe setting (not just another 'camp').

Objectives

1. Create interactive database for information exchange.
2. Get the word out to organizations in towns across America and bring them into the network to discuss the execution of this project.
3. Create committees for overall planning for supplies, transportation, communication, employment, management of the project.
4. Include empowerment actions for the refugee families to bring back normalcy in their lives as quickly as possible. This would include counseling, work opportunities, education and activities for children. The idea will be to move quickly from charity to self-action.
5. Leverage existing resources – not to re-create and waste efforts. For example, using existing job banks – ask for special consideration for towns hosting refugees.

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Take action - help organize:
If you would like to be on the discussion group with the organizers

If you want to donate your time and talents --- Please join our discussion group -
this is not for venting -- this is a focus group for action.

A yahoo group has been formed where those interested can discuss planning and other issues about the idea to have communities 'sponsor' groups of refugees.

To subscribe -
projectacrossamerica-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Especially needed on this list will be people with all kinds of experience and skills to help with planning and considering the impact to refugee families and the host communities.

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Take action - help with the website development:

We are currently working to get the website up and running. The website address will be http://www.taking-action.org and should be active within a few days.
If you have database, IA (Internet Architexture) or other web/programming skills, please send an email to:
taking-action@inciid.org

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