Hurricane Katrina and Rita Relief Efforts By The Senior Community Services Department of the JCC

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1 Hurricane Katrina and Rita Relief Efforts By The Senior Community Services Department of the JCC Background As soon as it became known that thousands of Hurricane Katrina victims were on their way to Houston, thousands of inquiries and offers to help were guided to the Senior Community Services Department at the Jewish Community Center (JCC). (The Senior Community Services Department includes the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), the Senior Companion program, the Meals on Wheels program, and Transportation.) The JCC, in collaboration with the Houston Jewish Federation and its participating agencies, provided information and referral services to those in need of assistance. At the same time, the JCC relayed information about volunteer opportunities, and recruited and deployed volunteers in an effort to meet the immediate needs in the community. Information and Referral Services The JCC was faced with many of the same challenges that other organizations faced assessing the needs of shelters, the faith community, non-profit organizations, nursing homes and assisted living facilities, and matching those needs to kind-hearted volunteers wanting to help. Relaying current and accurate information to the community was extremely challenging as needs and information was constantly changing. The JCC relied on Volunteer Houston s website, in addition to its own outreach efforts, to provide a wider scope of information regarding resources and volunteer opportunities to the public. Collection and Delivery of Donations Responding to the community s desire to help, the JCC became a collection site for donations. Donations of clothing, diapers, school uniforms, personal hygiene kits, and gift cards arrived from all over Texas, Florida, Seattle, Chicago, New York, and even Canada. Volunteers collected and sorted donations and loaded trucks bound for central distribution points. Many volunteers, such as Temple Emanuel s Boy Scout Troup #1190, took it upon themselves to jump in and help. The JCC Welcomed the Community People of all ages, from preschool to seniors were welcomed into the JCC. The Bertha Alyce Center, the nursery school at the JCC, the Children s Sports and Recreation Department, the Fitness Center, and the Senior Program all welcomed guests from New Orleans. The JCC also held public seminars that addressed overall needs and provided insurance information. Transportation Volunteers helped Hurricane Katrina victims by driving them to medical appointments and to pick up prescriptions.

2 Senior Companions & Other Volunteers Step Up to the Plate Several Senior Companions took on additional responsibilities to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. After completing their regular volunteer assignments, they helped out at shelters, churches, and at the Star of Hope Mission. Additional volunteers were placed at the Prince Center, the Salvation Army, as well as at churches, and shelters. The volunteers helped with food service, played with the children, and read stories to the children. Operation Compassion The JCC reached out through its extensive database of volunteers to recruit volunteers for Operation Compassion. Hundreds of volunteers participated in the food service training held at Second Baptist Church. George R. Brown Convention Center Shelter The JCC guided social workers and other volunteers with experience working with seniors to the GRB Shelter to conduct geriatric assessments. RSVP Partner Organization s Relief Work Over 900 disaster relief volunteer hours, in addition to regular volunteer hours, were reported to RSVP by its partner organizations in the month of September. The agencies that reported disaster relief volunteer hours to RSVP were: Acres Home Clinic, Baytown Community Center, Better Business Bureau, Crosby Community Center, DOSS Community Center, Greater St. Matthews Baptist Church, Harris County Hospital District, Salvation Army-William Booth Gardens, Spring Assistance Ministries, and West End Nutrition Center. Reliant City The Astrodome, The Reliant Center, and The Reliant Arena Shelters RSVP took an active role in recruiting CERT team members and other volunteers to assist at the Reliant Complex. Over the course of three weeks, from the time the initial call came to stand ready, to the time the shelter closed down, RSVP CERT team members and those from affiliated teams, i.e. the Doss Community Center CERT team, the West University CERT team, and the Spring Assistance Ministries CERT team, answered the call to help. (CERT members from other teams were certainly present as well, helping in many of the same capacities registering clients, sorting and distributing supplies, doing data entry, and assisting with triage.) CERT team members also helped staff the volunteer desk checking in volunteers, taking requests for volunteers, giving volunteer orientations, and serving as information officers and runners. RSVP and affiliated CERT team members were present, en force, on Monday, September 5, helping to increase the visibility of the national CERT program. Residents of the shelter, other volunteers and volunteer agencies, professional first responders, and the Former President and First Lady, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Former President George Bush, Sr., noticed the presence of CERT volunteers.

3 The RSVP CERT team was among the many other CERT teams represented at Reliant City on Monday, September 5, 2005.

4 RSVP s Hurricane Rita Relief Efforts On October 1 st and 2 nd, RSVP CERT team members traveled to Kenefick (near Dayton) to assist the Kenefick Volunteer Fire Department and members of their community. (Other CERT team members from Northwest Houston and Southwest Houston were on call.) CERT team members assisted the fire department by taking food, water, ice, and supplies to vulnerable members of the community, i.e. to those who could not get to the fire department to receive assistance. CERT team members provided additional support at the Kenefick Civic Center, which served as a shelter for the community. CERT team members brought a donation of food and supplies, helped prepare food, helped clean the shelter, and offered moral support. RSVP CERT team members assist the Kenefick Volunteer Fire Department by bringing food, water, and supplies to vulnerable members of the community.

5 Hurricane Rita s damaging winds and resultant downed power lines left most Kenefick residents without power. Residents, who had not yet run out of gas, drove up to the Kenefick Volunteer Fire Department where the National Guard was distributing ice and H2O. The Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP), part of Senior Corps, is a free national volunteer organization for men and women, age 55 and better. RSVP matches the skills and desires of senior volunteers with critical needs in the community. To learn more about volunteer opportunities and the free benefits available to RSVP members, please call the RSVP office at