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| A street in Everglades City, Fla., is lined with debris following damage to homes from Hurricane Irma. Photo by Kathleen Barry, UMNS. |
By Susan Kim (UMCOR)
When disaster strikes, often we see heart-wrenching images on television. People have lost everything. Their homes are swept away or lie in a tangled heap. Their belongings are ruined.
We immediately want to help – a good intention that stems from compassion for our fellow human beings. However, be certain to couple your compassion with good judgment on the best ways to help disaster survivors.
Here are the top four most common pitfalls into which helpers fall after a disaster – and what they should do instead.
Resist the urge to jump from your couch and drive to the disaster site.
When Hurricane Sandy struck the mid-Atlantic in 2012, scores of people decided to drive to New Jersey, New York and other affected areas. The result? Clogged interstates, a worsening gasoline shortage, and volunteers arriving in droves and diverting the attention of emergency personnel. What to do instead? When you watch or read the breaking news about a disaster, respond immediately – with prayer or a cash donation [such as through UMCOR.org].Don’t give the shirt off your back
Did you know that donations of used clothing are commonly called “the second disaster?” When clothing piles up at a disaster scene, it must be stored, hauled away, or sorted by volunteers who could better use their time helping disaster survivors. Instead, cash donations help disaster survivors purchase needed items from local businesses, which boost an economy weakened by disaster.Don’t believe that recovery takes only a few days
Well-intentioned donors often give money or relief-supply kits only while a disaster is prominent in the news headlines. In fact, for a major disaster, recovery can take years. If donations dry up after a week or two, responders no longer have the resources to help disaster survivors. Those survivors feel forgotten, and their recovery doesn’t progress.Don’t forget your own disaster preparation and training.
If you want to respond in a safe, helpful way, seek disaster-response training and learn how to prepare yourself so you can respond should the need arise. Preparing can be as simple as forming a plan with your neighbor, or as involved as becoming a specialized responder who serves on a United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR) Early Response Team.The next time disaster strikes, put your compassion into action through prayer, cash donations, relief-supply kits, training and volunteering. You will help disaster survivors around the world.
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UMCOR Responds to Current Disasters Around the World
In the wake of recent disasters in the United States and abroad, the United Methodist Committee On Relief (UMCOR) is working to fulfill unmet food, clean water, temporary shelter, hygiene supplies, and non-food item needs. UMCOR’s work starts when search and rescue operations for survivors is over. We accompany communities in their long-term recovery. UMCOR works with Conference Disaster Response Coordinators (CDRC) to assess needs and to design and implement disaster response activities.Recent disasters that UMCOR is responding to include: Hurricanes in Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico, Georgia, Louisiana, South Carolina, US Virgin Islands and the Caribbean; mudslides in Sierra Leone; earthquakes in Mexico; and wildfires on the West Coast.
Help through UMCOR
When you make a financial donation to UMCOR, you can be assured that every dollar will go to the program you specify. UMCOR can guarantee this because all of our administrative costs are covered by the UMCOR Sunday offering and other undesignated gifts. Volunteering or sending relief supplies to one of our supply depots are two more ways you can be a sign of hope for others. Your prayer support is vital to all that UMCOR does.Visit www.umcor.org for more information and to donate, or you designate your church offering to:
United States Disaster Response Advance #901670 - Support UMCOR’s response to disasters in the US.
International Disaster Response Advance #982450 - Support quick response to meet emergency needs around the world.
Material Resources Advance #901440 - Enhance the purchase of emergency response and disaster relief supplies.
Note: There are many other advance projects to choose from at www.umcor.org
