How To Help Those Affected By Hurricane Gustav
Lewisville,
September 2, 2008
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Alison Lynn
(202-225-7772)
Several North Texas communities are helping provide shelter for people evacuated from the Gulf Coast. Many people have asked how they can help as well. Here is some volunteer and donation information compiled by Denton County Officials.
The United Way of Denton County is working with the American Red Cross and Camp Copass to provide for any shelter needs. The United Way of Denton County is accepting cash and check donations to their Disaster Relief Fund. These donations will be used to support local agencies identified as providing services for the evacuees. Cash or check donations will be accepted at the following locations:
United Way of Denton County 625 Dallas Drive, Suite 525 Denton, TX 76205 Information & Referral 940-566-2688 First State Bank 400 West Oak Street Denton, TX First State Bank 1400 N. Corinth Street Ste 101 Corinth, TX The First State Bank Corinth & Denton Main Number is 940-349-5444. The United Way of Denton County will accept cash, check, and credit card donations, at their office, 625 Dallas Drive, Suite 525. Visa and Mastercard donations can also be accepted in person or on the phone at 940-566-2688. More information can be found at www.unitedwaydenton.org. Beginning Tuesday, September 2, The United Way of Denton County has also opened a collection site where the public can donate specific items to address the needs of Gustav evacuees. The warehouse is located at: 4801 W. University, Denton, TX (Past the Selwyn School and next door to CBS Mechanical) Hours of operation: 10:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Only the following items will be accepted at this time: • Diapers (all sizes) • baby wipes • new children’s clothing (sizes 2T, 3T, and 4T) • pop up pack and play pens • bottled water • juice box drinks • trac phones • phone cards • bags of ice (must be delivered to 600 Avenue D at the UNT Coliseum) Volunteers are needed to work in the warehouse to process donations and in the United Way office to answer phones for information and referral. Please contact the United Way office at 940-566-2688 or email community@unitedwaydenton.org to register as a LIVE UNITED volunteer. Please be prepared to provide the following information to register: name, address, phone number, t-shirt size, availability, and driver’s license or student ID number. We advise all volunteers to wear sneakers (no flip flops) and to dress light. Denton County has set-up a Help Line to provide information to hurricane self evacuees that have located themselves to our county. These self evacuees in Denton County can contact the Help Line to obtain information about local hotels, motels, banks, food banks, stores, and other information. The Help Line number is 940-349-4270. The hours of operation for the Help Line are as follows: Tuesday, Sept. 2, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 3, 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 4, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. ### U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration
Economic Adjustment Program Mission and Authority The U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration’s (DOC/EDA) mission is to lead the federal economic development agenda by promoting innovation and competitiveness, preparing American regions for growth and success in the worldwide economy. DOC/EDA has a long history of supporting the economic recovery of areas impacted by sudden and severe economic dislocations such as the economic impacts of natural disasters, the closure of military installations, changing trade patterns, and the depletion of natural resources. DOC/EDA’s Economic Adjustment Program assists state and local interests to design and implement strategies to adjust or bring about change to an economy where there is threat of serious structural damage to the underlying economic base. For more information, please call Patty Sheetz, EDA’s Director of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs, at 202-482-2900. Disaster Response DOC/EDA’s principal instrument for addressing catastrophic natural disasters and the accompanying economic dislocation is its Economic Adjustment Program. This program utilizes a flexible and comprehensive set of tools to help impacted areas achieve long-term economic recovery. Two predominant types of investment activity are supported: Strategic economic recovery, technical assistance, and capacity building investments – augment the institutional capacity of local governments by helping communities to organize and implement a planning process to assess impacts and develop a recovery strategy; and, DOC/EDA supports locally-directed mitigation efforts flowing from a strategic recovery planning process designed to support near-term renewal and to safeguard jobs and investment from future disasters. DOC/EDA recognizes the primacy of affected State, local, and tribal governments and the private sector in defining and addressing risk reduction and long-term community recovery priorities. The Bureau’s disaster recovery assistance focuses on long-term recovery efforts that are forward looking and market-based focusing on permanent restoration of infrastructure and the local economy. DOC/EDA Assistance for Prior Disasters DOC/EDA’s post-disaster long-term economic recovery program funding relies on normal program appropriations and emergency supplemental appropriations for specific disasters. Examples of past supplemental appropriations include the following: FY Disaster Assistance Provided 1993/94 Midwest Floods 200 M 1994 Northridge Earthquake 91 M 1994 Tropical Storm Alverto 50 M 1996 1996 Floods 17 M 1997 Hurricanes Fran and Hortense 25 M 1997 Upper Midwest Floods 50 M 1999 Alaska Fisheries 15 M 2000 Hurricane Floyd 55 M 2001 Alaska Fisheries/Norton Sound 10 M Assistance with Gulf Coast Recovery When responding to the needs of communities with sudden and severe economic distress, EDA has focused on assisting state and local interests in designing and implementing strategies to adjust and rebuild the economic infrastructure. EDA stresses that planning and implementation should take place and be driven at the local level where needs are best analyzed and met. For example, in September 2005 immediately following Hurricane Katrina, EDA committed $4 million each to the Mississippi and Louisiana State Economic Development offices, thereby allowing those offices to help implement capacity-rebuilding programs where most needed. While EDA did not receive any supplemental appropriations to respond Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Bureau has invested over $34 million in 57 investments in Gulf Coast recovery activities from September 2005 to date. Interagency Coordination and Collaboration DOC/EDA can play a significant role in helping to fill program “gaps” by packaging assistance with other federal partners. DOC/EDA works closely with other federal agencies, as well as state and local governments to provide assistance that complements and does not duplicate other programs. Since 1992, DOC/EDA has coordinated with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in providing federal assistance to support long-term economic recovery for communities impacted by disasters. Under the National Response Plan, DOC/EDA serves as a primary agency (with SBA, HUD and USDA) to implement operational program delivery under Emergency Support Function (ESF) #14, Recovery and Long-term Recovery. In assisting with past disaster response activities, DOC/EDA has, through a reimbursable Mission Assignment from FEMA, provided Bureau professional staff to participate in on-site FEMA-led Recovery Teams to supply planning and technical assistance to the most impacted communities in developing strategic long-term recovery plans. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
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