Galveston needs help
Received an email through the NCDD list asking for help in Texas…
Galveston is in trouble. That is almost as much as I can say about the community here. My name is Jimmy Mai and I’m a Member with Americorps’ National Civilian Community Corps. We’re stationed in Galveston, TX doing needs assessment post- Hurricane Ike.In doing this, we are walking door to door and stopping people on the streets to see what they may need. From that we are making notes on whatever support they require and enter it into a nation-wide database called the Coordinated Assistance Network (or CAN). CAN is a system that allows hundreds of Non- Profit organizations to come together and look at these individual needs and send out help respectfully.The problem is we- Americorps NCCC members- have no idea how this network is being managed. Case managers are supposed to overlook the people we are putting into this database, but that’s not supposed to be for another three weeks, and we have no idea why there is a postponement. We are told that organizations like Metro United Way, Salvation Army, and The Red Cross are apart of this, but we haven’t been told any information on what they are doing to use CAN to it’s potential.There is a hinder in the recovery process because of this and FEMA response. Although FEMA has helped a few, the number of untouched cases and unheard people are overwhelming. We go to the community and listen to their stories; unfortunately, there’s an agreement on camp that the amount of people being helped, compared to those not, is unacceptable.…These people need help. These people need a voice, and they need resources to help them through this. This community has many strong points; they are accustomed to bad weather, and have an amazing resilience and sense of hope. But Hurricane Ike is really testing them; lets help them fan the flames once again.If anyone knows anything that might help this area, please let me know. If anyone would like to call or meet for further discussion, don’t hesitate to contact me, because many corps members and I are in need of information and networking that might help these people. Americorps members are at an advantage in that we experience first hand what this community is going through. We’ve heard the stories, but now we need to get something done. Thanks so much for your time, and please contact me if you think you can help in the slightest bit. An alternate email address of mine is ncccgreen6pol@gmail.comJimmy MaiAmericorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC)Project Outreach Liaison- Green 6502-417-0524
Remember Hurricane Ike? That was before Sarah Palin, before the election, before the collapse of the market? All of twelve weeks ago. If anyone is in south Texas and can lend some facilitation and organization skills to Jimmy and the NCCC, that might be a nice Thanksgiving present.
