LSS Disaster Response

Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response (LSSDR) is partnering with several other emergency assistance organizations to assist the families who have experienced damaged or destroyed homes and possessions due to the catastrophic tornadoes that swept through the Dallas area on Tuesday, April 3rd. Right now we are addressing the immediate, emergency needs for food, shelter, and clothing of affected individuals and families. “Our past experience with survivors of natural disasters has proven time and again that financial assistance to cover these immediate living expenses is the best way we can help,” said Mark Minick, LSS senior vice president for Disaster Response. “Additionally, we are asking for your prayers for the families whose lives have been devastated.” LSSDR is grateful for any financial assistance to support these relief efforts at this time. The quickest and easiest avenue is to make on online donation to LSS Disaster Response.  Designate “Dallas Tornadoes 2012” in the drop-down menu. In addition to working with LWR, Texas VOAD (Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster), and other community groups, LSSDR will also be working with local congregations and the Synod and District to provide emergency grants to those who are in need. Damage Assessment: The Red Cross has assembled…

A big thank you to those who supported the “Roll In The Hay” event at The Cotton Gin in Maxwell, TX, on February 12th. The Haylift to Texas benefit raised money and awareness for the plight of ranchers struggling to feed their livestock after the drought and wildfires this past fall. The event successfully shined the national spotlight on this issue, giving it the widespread exposure it deserves. Even with the recent rain in Central Texas, the situation for these farmers and ranchers remains at a crisis level. Fundraising efforts to mobilize donations and transport the hay are ongoing and include regular PSA announcements on country radio stations KASE 101 and KVET in Austin.  Additional exposure has come through “Speaking of Horses,” a radio show out of Wisconsin hosted by renowned equine expert Wayne Williams.  Wayne attended the “Roll In the Hay” benefit and captured interviews of the participants, including World Champion bull rider Scott Mendes. Check out Wayne’s interviews and some of the bull-riding action here  [Note: interviews start at about 1:45 minutes]. Please consider supporting Haylift to Texas by making a donation through www.lssdisasterresponse.org. Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response (LSSDR) continues to help the wildfire victims rebuild their lives,…

A concert benefit for Haylift to Texas will be held at The Cotton Gin in Maxwell, TX, on February 12th, and proceeds from this event, “A Roll In the Hay,” will help people, and especially their animals, suffering from the lack of food resulting from the Texas wildfires this fall and the recent drought said to be the worst in decades. “A Roll In the Hay” is coming together with the help of agricultural professionals, farmers, Farm Aid, and transportation employees from Texas, Tennessee, Ohio and other areas.  Proceeds from the benefit will be used to purchase hay and transportation through Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response, a 501c(3) nonprofit charity. Motivating people to donate hay or provide reasonably priced hay to the cause has been the easiest part of this endeavor; the problem is funding the transportation of up to 100,000 tons of hay from other states to Texas. It is estimated that it costs $3,500 for one semi-truck to travel from Ohio to Texas with donated hay. “Many people are still in need of help with hay for their livestock due to the drought and wildfires,” said Jean Crawford, Haylift To Texas event organizer. “Farmers north of us are…

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced last Friday that the deadline to register for recovery assistance in the wake of the Bastrop County Wildfires has been extended to January 6, 2012.  The application form takes about 30 minutes to complete.  According to a press release issued by the Bastrop County Long Term Recovery Committee, homeowners may qualify for up to $200,000 to repair or replace their fire-damaged homes under SBA. Renters and homeowners may also be eligible for up to $40,000 for replacement of personal property. Businesses of any size may be eligible for physical disaster loans to repair or replace damaged or destroyed real estate, inventory, machinery or equipment, and other business assets. FEMA registrants that do not otherwise qwualify to receive an SBA loan may be eligible for assistance through other FEMA grant programs. Wildfire survivors can download the loan application at the SBA website or fill out an application online. Additional information about SBA loans is available through SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center at 1-800-659-2955 or TTY 1-800-877-8339. Advice is also available by email. Texans can register online, via web-enabled phone, or by telephone via FEMA’s toll-free numbers: 1-800-621-3362 or TTY 1-800-462-7585.   711-Relay…

After seemingly endless days of hazy, smoke-filled horizons and the smell of fire in the air, there was a new and almost foreign smell in Central Texas this weekend—the smell of rain. For plenty of folks around the country, they wish the rain would cease, go somewhere else. But for us Texans, the sound, the feel, the smell of rain seems like a distant memory or something that we dreamed of one night long ago. But then this weekend, it rained. It wasn’t a gully-washer, flash flood-enducer or drought breaker, but a slow, easy, steady, soft rain. I admit, I went outside and stood in it, breathing deeply in the damp, earthy smell that made everything around me feel alive again. Just watching the raindrops hit and then roll down my arms produced a child-like, visceral joy in me. Ah, rain, it does exist. It will come again. That beautiful rain did wonders to assist the firefighters in Bastrop County with their ongoing efforts to extinguish the Bastrop County Complex Fire, which is now reported as 95% contained. Other wildfires in Central Texas continue to have hot spots, but are fully contained. Survivors have been able to re-enter their neighborhoods…

Sadly, over 1,500 homes have been destroyed in the Central Texas wildfires alone.  There has been loss of life, loss of loved ones.  It seems that in our Austin office, everybody knows someone who knows someone who has lost a home in this disaster.  We all feel the pain. Although many fires continue to burn and hundreds of firefighting agencies from across the country are working around the clock, experienced disaster response personnel know that this is still the very early stages of this particular event.  Regardless, it is amazing to be part of the broader community that has quickly come together to provide help, healing and hope to those impacted by the disaster. During the past week we have established or re-established partnerships with Lutheran World Relief, Lutheran Disaster Response, LCMS World Relief/Human Care, Thrivent, Concordia University – Texas, all of the Texas based judicatories, numerous congregations, and hundreds if not now thousands of individual donors and local businesses. Some of the early response items we’ve been a part of include: Providing emergency grants to Lutheran families and others identified by Lutheran congregations who have lost their homes due to the fires. Working with local Lutheran Churches in the area…

Firefighters continue battling blazes in Central Texas and around the state. Voluntary organizations are mobilizing to deal with the emergency and its aftermath. People from all walks of life are deeply concerned and moved about the plight of the victims and are pitching in to help on a massive scale. We are once again deeply moved by the generosity of our donors. As of late yesterday, we have raised more than $100,000 in response to the Texas wildfires. Our disaster response leaders are meeting with church congregations in Bastrop County today to determine immediate emergency needs of their members.  LSSDR will continue to keep an eye on the long term recovery needs of the victims and survivors of this tragedy. Personally, I attended my first meeting of the Central Texas VOAD today. VOAD stands for Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters.  It was an unscheduled meeting as you might imagine under the circumstances and it was held in our Austin headquarters.  Heather Gatlin from our LSSDR group is the president of Central Texas VOAD. What was immediately apparent was that every major volunteer organization in the Central Texas area is represented in VOAD. The American Red Cross, the Austin Disaster Relief Network (ADRN), Catholic Charities, The Capitol…

Phone calls from supporters have already been coming in asking how they might help local fire victims in Central Texas. The LSS Disaster Response (LSSDR) team is working diligently to identify affected families through our network of community partners and Lutheran congregations. LSSDR is in need of financial assistance to support these relief efforts at this time. The quickest and easiest avenue is to make on online donation to LSS Disaster Response.  Designate “Disaster Response” in the drop-down menu. In the short-term, LSSDR is addressing the immediate, emergency needs for food/shelter/clothing of individuals and families affected.  This will be an ongoing response through congregations until all are served or until the funds run out. In the long-term, and as funds allow, LSSDR will assist low-income families without insurance who lost their homes and possessions, as well as renters stripped of their belongings. Spiritual and emotional care will be available to those in need of support on an ongoing basis. We will update information on the LSS website.  Additionally, you can help us by sharing this information throughout your own networks and on Facebook. The thousands of families whose lives have been devastated, and the firefighters who are risking their lives battling the firestorms, are in need…

Responding to the catastrophic wild fires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and continue to burn in many areas of Central Texas since yesterday, LSS Disaster Response leaders are in discussions with key emergency response organizations, community leaders and church congregations in the affected areas. As efforts to contain these fires continue and damages are assessed, we will continue to monitor the situation as closely as possible. LSS Disaster Response is putting plans in place today in order to be able to effectively respond to the many areas of need. Our focus, as always, will be: Short Term Emergency Needs Long Term Response Spiritual/Emotional Care Many of our donors have asked how they can pledge financial assistance to response efforts at this time. The quickest and easiest way to do so is to make on online donation to LSS Disaster Response.  Designate “Disaster Response” in the drop down menu. Our prayers are with the hundreds of families who have been affected and the firefighters who are bravely confronting this disaster. We will continue update our information as necessary.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic officially began June 1st and ends November 30th, which means … we’re in it folks. Peak hurricane season is from August to October, with early to mid-September typically as the pinnacle. Mother Nature, however, can be full of surprises and the occasional hurricane happens outside of these months. Every year, experts take their best shots at forecasting the probability of major hurricane activity and landfall in the Atlantic. And every year, the Lutheran Social Services Disaster Response  (LSSDR) team braces and prepares for … the unexpected. What does this mean in the daily LSSDR scheme of things? This is the window of opportunity for a proactive rather than reactive approach to disaster preparation. LSSDR preparedness is a continuous cycle of planning, organizing, training, equipping, assessment, and improvement. All systematic planning efforts aside, when emergencies do occur — whether small scale or catastrophic — they can be overwhelming, for the communities they impact and the agencies that serve them. The early stages of disaster response are typically filled with activity (some would call it chaos) to help meet the basic, immediate humanitarian needs of the affected population. It is a fluid environment, a moving target, as the situation “on the ground”…