Commentary; Posted: 9/14/05
A rallying call to aid Hurricane Katrina victims
By Don Heinzman
The human tragedy in New Orleans and cities across the Gulf Coast left by Hurricane Katrina is a rallying cry for all Americans to aid in the recovery.
Community leaders already are rising to the challenge with offers of money, food, clothing and supplies. Thatís the easy part.
The real challenge is for local communities to offer places to live to those displaced Americans who need hope and the chance for a new start in their lives.
The state is offering Camp Ripley near Little Falls as a temporary refuge to the displaced Americans who will need independent housing, jobs, medical care in communities across Minnesota.
It remains to be seen how many survivors will go to Camp Ripley.
Community leaders need to step up and organize not only fund-raising but identifying places where these refugees from the Gulf states can stay and continue their lives.
A good starting point is calling 211, a statewide, coordinating and referral agency run by the United Way.
It is compiling a list of families and communities willing to open homes and apartments to displaced families, particularly those who are coming to Camp Ripley.
This data base will be used by the National Guard to connect displaced families with families and communities willing to receive them.
Mayors from St. Paul, Bloomington and Roseau are organizing a structure for their fellow mayors to enable them to connect housing and opportunity with those in need, particularly in Camp Ripley.
American Red Cross officials said the ideal arrangement is for communities to make available independent housing and jobs to those families in need, rather than families taking the refugees in temporarily.
Community leaders can call Nancy Haas at St. Paul Mayor Randy Kellyís office who is coordinating work of the three mayors.
Another resource for communities to seek advice is the Emergency Operations Center in St. Paul, a part of the Department of Public Safety.
As expected, churches are taking the lead in linking help to other churches in the distressed area.
There are other lessons to be learned from New Orleans.
One is to have a plan that assumes a catastrophe and has a mechanism in place which makes possible quick decision-making.
Relying on the federal government as first responders obviously is unrealistic.
Any plan must involve those local, county and state entities who could be called on immediately to provide food, water and basic necessities.
Another lesson from New Orleans is to have a backup communication system when all the towers and electronic infrastructure are knocked out by tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes.
No rescue effort can work if communication is down.
Still another lesson is the need to stockpile food and water in easily accessible places so those who need it can get it right away.
In our own communities, leaders who live along rivers or other waters that flood should check the levees.
If high water threatens, a plan must be in place to shore up those dikes around the clock.
This is no time for turf battles at the local, county and state levels; thereís plenty of work for everyone. Leaders, however, must step up and coordinate efforts so that aid is targeted quickly to the displaced Americans to give them hope that they live in a country that cares for and about them.
Forest Lake Times
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