World Relief Offers Guide for Those Assisting Hurricane Evacuees
by Ed Thomas
September 28, 2005
(AgapePress) - A new resource is now available for churches, families, and individuals looking for effective ways to go about hosting and assisting families displaced by Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita. World Relief, an organization that provides humanitarian relief and training in 24 countries, has published a downloadable guide with a step-by-step plan for aiding evacuees in getting back on their feet. The publication, titled "Open Doors: A Guide to Hosting Displaced Americans and Evacuees," covers everything from initial needs to long-term employment, housing, and other issues.
Ruth Billings, World Relief's Deputy Director for Refugee and Immigration Programs, says the organization has drawn from 26 years of work assisting political refugees from other countries to resettle in the United States. "We feel with that expertise -- although it's not the same situation -- there are many principles that can carry over and be applied to the evacuees," she says.
Drawing on that expertise, Billings notes, the guide presents a model that those who are trying to help hurricane evacuees can follow to keep from being overwhelmed. "The 'Open Doors' program tries to provide some guidance or at least some suggestions for how the responsibilities can be divided up in trying to cover all the bases," she says.
"The guide concentrates on establishing a team support approach, so families and individuals do not become overburdened or burnt-out," the World Relief official explains. "It's really meant to be flexible," she says. "A church may choose to use it, as is, in its entirety. But we hope also that in another situation perhaps, it could also be just broken up and parts of it could apply. It's meant to be adaptive."
World Relief's "Open Doors" guide is available to download at the Christian relief organization's website (www.worldrelief.org).
Ed Thomas, a regular contributor to AgapePress, is a reporter for American Family Radio News, which can be heard online.
