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Notes from briefing
held September 29, 2005
The Donors Forum of Chicago and Heartland
Alliance for Human Needs & Human Rights co-sponsored
a briefing on how the public and private sectors are
responding to the resettlement of evacuees in Chicago
in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Valerie Lies,
Donors Forum, introduced the discussion, and Sid Mohn,
Heartland Alliance, provided a context for the briefing
and moderated the subsequent panel discussion. Janet
Froetscher, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, John
Taylor III, United Way of Metropolitan Chicago, Nikki
Will Stein, Polk Bros. Foundation, and Kathy Donohue,
Catholic Charities, were members of the panel.
Chicago has received at least 8,000
and possibly just over 9,000 evacuees from the Gulf
region. The exact number is uncertain, as not all evacuees
have registered with FEMA or the local government. Ten
percent of the evacuees in Chicago came through FEMA-funded
transportation, while the others came on their own or
with transportation provided by African-American churches.
Two challenges currently face the efforts
to aid evacuees. First, efforts must move from a relief
mode to a resettlement mode, helping people transition
from shelters or from relatives' homes and into supportive
housing. The second challenge is helping move evacuees
out of poverty. Individuals also need resources and
skills that can help make their resettlement (whether
in Chicago, back in the New Orleans area, or in some
other part of the country) permanent and move them out
of poverty.
Heartland Alliance is the lead organization
coordinating relief and resettlement efforts in Chicago.
City and state governments have many scattered points
of contact for those seeking assistance, and the private
sector contains many organizations with experience in
resettlement. Heartland Alliance volunteered to try
to coordinate all these services, and the United Way
of Metropolitan Chicago also came forward to help in
that effort. The City of Chicago has allowed its 311
system to be used in both the city and suburbs as an
information clearinghouse, and the system has proven
successful at helping connect evacuees to the services
they need.
Some private foundations responded
initially to the situation by funding organizations
working in the Gulf region, and they are now looking
at ways to help some of the evacuees who have settled,
whether temporarily or permanently, in the Chicago area.
The volunteer effort has been very strong, and there
was an almost one-to-one ratio of volunteers to evacuees
who came into the welcome center at Fosco Park. The
coordination between public and private agencies, along
with the volunteers offering assistance, allowed many
families and individuals to quickly move out of shelters
and into apartments.
Future efforts need to work to provide
a full range of services to evacuees that can help them
become settled and move out of poverty. FEMA assistance
does not cover all these services, and private organizations
are moving to fill in the gaps, such as the nearly $100
dollar gap between the national fair market rent that
FEMA is basing rental payments on and actual rents in
Chicago. Also, there is concern financial assistance
through FEMA may not be available to single individuals
or childless couples.
Participants raised the following points
as the discussion continued:
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Evacuees who have been in
Chicago long enough to become somewhat established
can help newer evacuees as they come in. This can
not only help the evacuees feel like they are contributing
something, but it can also build networks among
the evacuees, as it is helpful for them to have
people to talk to who have a firsthand understanding
of their situation.
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Funders need to be aware
of how relief efforts may affect their other giving.
Some organizations have committed to not reducing
their support for the organizations they fund due
to donations for hurricane relief. Funding for hurricane
relief and for existing grantees can go hand-in-hand,
as many grantee organizations will be providing
services needed by evacuees. Funders, like grantees,
may see an impact on their resources due to the
hurricane, as some organizations might experience
decreased corporate giving as donations shift to
emergency relief efforts, while also seeing an increase
in individual giving. However, such increases may
be followed to lulls in giving in subsequent years.
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The tragedy of the hurricane
and the way it has brought the problem of poverty
into the spotlight presents an opportunity to create
and promote more comprehensive solutions to poverty
problems. A more comprehensive solution is needed,
as in some respects the evacuees are receiving more
assistance than other families struggling with poverty.
The efforts stemming from the hurricane may provide
an opportunity to talk about bringing a range of
benefits and services to all individuals and families
dealing with poverty, rather than to a single group.
The Donors Forum will be holding
discussions on the possibility of joint philanthropic
efforts in the wake of the hurricane, and updates will
be posted to the Donors Forum web site. The philanthropic
community should look for any venues, including but not
limited to the Donors Forum, where they can tell the stories
of their efforts and the results they are seeing.
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