Chapter Chapter 4
Section Meeting Victims’ Needs
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Meeting Victims’ Needs
The national effort to meet the needs of Hurricane Katrina victims expanded in the weeks after landfall. Government, private sector, faith-based, non-profit, and other volunteer personnel collaborated in innovative ways to provide medical, financial, and housing assistance. For example, former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton are distributing over $90 million they raised following Hurricane Katrina to Gulf Coast higher education institutions, local and regional faith-based organizations, and the States of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama.221 At the National Book Festival in September attendees collected donated books to help Gulf Coast schools and libraries replace the books that were destroyed by the hurricane.222>
Federal responders overcame many of the initial public health challenges as increasing numbers of medical personnel and supplies flowed into the region. The continuing efforts of medical personnel to vaccinate Hurricane Katrina evacuees prevented most communicable diseases from spreading in the densely populated shelters. 223 By mid-September, the HHS’s public health response transitioned focus from acute public health issues to include less imminent concerns, such as child care support, mental health services, and treatment services for substance abuse.224
On September 7, FEMA announced that it had instituted the Expedited Assistance Program to speed the delivery of assistance to Hurricane Katrina victims.225 This enabled registrations to grow from 261,946 on September 5 to over one million ten days later.226 FEMA delivered over $1 billion in assistance to evacuees in all fifty States and the District of Columbia by September 17—less than three weeks after landfall.227 However, this extraordinary and unprecedented effort was frequently overshadowed by problems encountered by evacuees in their attempts to register for or receive assistance. For example, FEMA established Disaster Recovery Centers (DRCs) in the Gulf Coast region that were not structured to process disaster assistance registrations.228 The DRCs also were not set up to assist victims in obtaining the other Federal assistance that they were already receiving before Katrina, such as Social Security and Veteran’s Benefits. Staff at the DRCs directed victims to register by telephone or via the Internet.229 Since many households in Hurricane Katrina-affected areas were without power or telephone service, such instructions left many without the means to file their registrations.<230 In addition, FEMA had not determined the capacity of existing Federal agency call centers and telephone banks to handle increased call volumes. Consequently, victims registering for assistance via telephone repeatedly encountered long delays and disconnected calls.231
Lessons Learned:
The Department of Health and Human Services should coordinate with other departments of the Executive Branch, as well as State governments and non-governmental organizations, to develop a robust, comprehensive, and integrated system to deliver human services during disasters so that victims are able to receive Federal and State assistance in a simple and seamless manner. In particular, this system should be designed to provide victims a consumer oriented, simple, effective and single encounter from which they can receive assistance.
At times, FEMA public statements regarding the provision of assistance were confusing or incomplete. For example, FEMA announced that it was making $2,000 cash payments to qualified/registered disaster victims and that these funds would be provided through various means, including by debit card.232 However, it made this announcement before the debit cards were widely available and did not provide detailed guidance on distribution procedures. <233 This led to widespread confusion and frustration. Security personnel had to lock down the Houston Astrodome during the distribution of debit cards due to unrest among evacuees.234
Faith-based, non-profit, and other non-government and volunteer organizations continued to provide essential support to Hurricane Katrina victims. For example, in Harris County, Texas, the Citizen Corps Council—a volunteer organization under the auspices of DHS—coordinated private sector contributions and the mobilization of 60,000 volunteers.235 The Citizen Corps volunteers created an evacuee “city,” which at its peak sheltered more than 27,000 people at the Reliant Center, Reliant Arena, and the Astrodome.236 The Southern Baptist Convention of the North American Mission Board and other faith-based organizations provided food and shelter to many evacuees and helped them find temporary and permanent housing.237
Lessons Learned:
The Federal response should better integrate the contributions of volunteers and non-governmental organizations into the broader national effort. This integration would be best achieved at the State and local levels, prior to future incidents. In particular, State and local governments must engage NGOs in the planning process, credential their personnel, and provide them the necessary resource support for their involvement in a joint response.
However, faith-based and non-governmental groups were not adequately integrated into the response effort.238 These groups often encountered difficulties coordinating their efforts with Federal, State and local governments, due to a failure to adequately address their role in the NRP.239 Major Todd Hawks of the Salvation Army testified to Congress that the Salvation Army, “wasn't permitted to have a liaison officer in the State's Emergency Operations Center (EOC). As a result, we had to obtain critical information second-hand through Voluntary Organizations Active in a Disaster (VOAD)—if we received the information at all.” Hawks stated this situation further complicated the Salvation Army’s relief effort.240 Reverend Larry Snyder, President of Catholic Charities USA, remarked, “In spite of Catholic Charities having available FEMA trained and certified disaster response staff, we were not always allowed admittance to FEMA operations and the local EOCs. This significantly impaired a more coordinated response by all of us.” These groups succeeded in their missions, mitigated suffering and helped victims survive mostly in spite of, not because of, the government. These groups deserve better next time. Jim Towey, Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, said these folks were the foot soldiers and armies of compassion that victims of Katrina so desperately needed.
Lessons Learned:
Using established Federal core competencies and all available resources, the Department of Housing and Urban Development, in coordination with other departments of the Executive Branch with housing stock, should develop integrated plans and bolstered capabilities for the temporary and long-term housing of evacuees. The American Red Cross and the Department of Homeland Security should retain responsibility and improve the process of mass care and sheltering during disasters.
Locating temporary or long-term housing for Hurricane Katrina evacuees presented significant challenges for Federal officials. The supply of temporary housing in the disaster area, such as hotels and apartments, was quickly depleted, while FEMA’s effort to provide trailers to evacuees foundered due to inadequate planning and poor coordination.241 Moving evacuees into trailers was delayed because of FEMA’s failure to plan for the provision of delivery transportation and infrastructure support such as water and electrical hook-up.242 The shelter population plummeted from nearly 273,000 on September 5 to about 135,000 on September 10 as evacuees found temporary or other housing opportunities.243 Although FEMA had planned to place all evacuees into temporary housing by October 1,244 nearly 16,000 victims of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, which made landfall near the Texas-Louisiana border on September 24, still remained in shelters in mid-October.245 FEMA also did not provide expedited direct rental assistance to individuals until late September.246 Those out of shelters were mostly placed in hotels, which only delayed the permanent housing problem. Further, the uncertainty of relocation fostered constant anxiety in the already traumatized victims of Katrina.
Housing and other assistance issues persisted even as response operations gave way to recovery and rebuilding efforts. They are critical for determining whether the region will retain its people and their unique culture. These remain central issues for Donald Powell, appointed by President Bush on November 1, 2005, to serve as the Coordinator of Federal Support for the Gulf Coast's Recovery and Rebuilding.247
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