Volunteers Needed in Louisiana for Disaster Recovery

BATON ROUGE, La. – In the wake of a disaster, the people of Louisiana have always come together with compassion and courage to ask how they can help survivors.

Soon after a disaster people come forward to assist those in need. However, people often don’t realize there is still a great need a few weeks after the disaster. Currently, there is a shortage of volunteers, particularly in northern Louisiana.

If anyone would like to volunteer to help Louisiana disaster survivors, the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness (GOHSEP) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) suggests working through a local voluntary organization.  Debris removal and rebuilding are two ways that volunteers can help.

Those interested in volunteering can contact Volunteer Louisiana online at www.volunteerlouisiana.gov or email nauck@crt.la.gov and be put in touch with a voluntary group in need. Volunteer Louisiana is a state-run organization.

Residents can learn more about volunteering and its benefits by viewing a video at http://www.fema.gov/media-libary/assets/video/112533.

If you are unable to volunteer your time or skills, recovery officials suggest making a donation to an organization involved in disaster recovery as an effective and efficient way of contributing.

Cash contributions to voluntary organizations make good sense for a number of reasons:

• Financial contributions help ensure a steady flow of important services to survivors.
• Local organizations spend the money in the local affected community, accelerating its economic recovery.
• Cash donations, rather than unsolicited donated goods, avoid the complicated, costly and time-consuming process of collecting, transporting and distributing these goods.
• Cash donations to recognized relief organizations are tax-deductible.

Volunteering and donating through existing channels, and making responsible decisions that do not hinder the recovery, is the best way to be of service.

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We urge everyone to continue to use caution in areas where floodwaters remain. Monitor the Department of Transportation and Development’s www.511la.org website for updated road closure information. Look for advisories from your local authorities and emergency managers. You can find the latest information on the state’s response at www.emergency.la.gov. GOHSEP also provides information on Facebook and Twitter. You can receive emergency alerts on most smartphones and tablets by downloading the new Alert FM App.  It is free for basic service.  You can also download the Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Guide and find other information at www.getagameplan.org.

Disaster recovery assistance is available without regard to race, color, religion, nationality, sex, age, disability, English proficiency or economic status.  If you or someone you know has been discriminated against, call FEMA toll-free at 800-621-FEMA (3362). For TTY call 800-462-7585.
FEMA’s mission is to support our citizens and first responders to ensure that as a nation we work together to build, sustain, and improve our capability to prepare for, protect against, respond to, recover from, and mitigate all hazards.  Follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/femaregion6 and the FEMA Blog at http://blog.fema.gov.

The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) is the federal government’s primary source of money for the long-term rebuilding of disaster-damaged private property. SBA helps businesses of all sizes, private non-profit organizations, homeowners and renters fund repairs or rebuilding efforts and cover the cost of replacing lost or disaster-damaged personal property. These disaster loans cover losses not fully compensated by insurance or other recoveries and do not duplicate benefits of other agencies or organizations. For more information, applicants may contact SBA’s Disaster Assistance Customer Service Center by calling (800) 659-2955, emailing disastercustomerservice@sba.gov, or visiting SBA’s Web site at www.sba.gov/disaster. Deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals may call (800)877-8339.

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