NADO Regional Development Digest - 07/28/2006 (Plain Text Version)
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RDOs Move Forward with Katrina Recovery Efforts
Jonathan Kappler, Graduate Fellow
This special edition of the Digest is a follow-up to the September 2005 issue which highlighted RDOs' active role in Hurricane Katrina recovery efforts. Find out how RDOs are continuing to provide assistance to communities and displaced individuals as recovery efforts continue almost one year later.
Following the devastation of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita that ravaged the Gulf Coast last year, the Digest reported in September 2005 how regional development organizations (RDOs) were impacted and how many of them in or near the Gulf Coast, and throughout the United States, took immediate action by offering their services, supplies and other resources to help communities affected by the storm. As we approach the one year anniversary of this historic event, this special follow-up issue highlights how RDOs within and outside of the Gulf Coast area are spearheading ongoing recovery efforts, providing technical services such as GIS mapping and partnering with local, state, public, private and federal agencies to provide assistance to communities and displaced residents. This article also looks at how despite challenges and limited resources in some cases, progress is still evident. Hurricane Impact was Personal and Professional “These people need food. They need help. We have to help these people,” was Les Newcomb’s first thought. Never mind the fact that he himself was one of “these people.” Not only was his home completely destroyed by Hurricane Katrina, but the Southern Mississippi Planning and Development District’s (SMPDD) Gulfport office was ruined and their north office sustained severe damage as well. All of that, however, did not stop Newcomb and his staff from providing immediate assistance to their devastated community. The staff of the SMPDD worked out of trailers and makeshift offices to provide the resources and services that federal, state and local officials needed in addition to administering programs of their own. With such a massive natural disaster affecting every facet of life in the Gulf coast, the professional struggles of SMPDD and its staff were also personal. Newcomb is proud to mention that despite the considerable personal loss that he and his staff continue to endure, everyone is still coming to work to help rebuild their community as well as their lives. The situation that Les Newcomb and numerous other RDOs encountered affirms the need for a coordinated government response to hurricanes and other natural disasters, as well as possible homeland security breaches. His frustration highlights the possible deficiencies that exist in the nation’s emergency management structure. Regional development organizations are uniquely positioned and qualified to coordinate, plan and implement essential disaster response and other homeland security efforts. These activities range from coordinating the integration of first responder communication systems, to managing the GIS data and tools necessary to enhance local decision making, to developing comprehensive response plans and conducting regional forums. Unfortunately, as Hurricane Katrina made painfully clear, such efforts to utilize organizations such as SMPDD have not been fully realized. In the face of diminished resources and widespread devastation regional development organizations are creatively helping to rebuild a better Gulf coast. Regional Preparedness Works Not many people enjoy sleeping at their office, but Kevin Belanger, Executive Director of South Central Planning and Development Commission (SCPDC), chose to do just that. Belanger and his family rode out Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the building that houses SCPDC. In a region where the average height above sea level is six feet, Kevin Belanger had the foresight to partner with the Louisiana State University Hurricane Center to select a site for SCPDC not prone to flooding and to build the facility to withstand natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina. However, such forward thinking is nothing new to Belanger. He helped create the Mutual Aid Task Force in partnership with local governmental structures and the state police, a regional approach to disaster preparedness that provided critical assistance in the days after the storm. The Mutual Aid Task Force and SCPDC performed just how they were designed to: they coordinated recovery operations, provided administrative and technical support and began executing needed tasks for member governments. The effort has been so successful that the state police are using the model as a blueprint for similar functions for areas across the state. SCPDC’s counterparts all around the Gulf coast were carrying out comparable actions while regional development organizations from places like Georgia and Kentucky added their support. Hurricane Impact Felt Outside the Gulf Coast Region Many of the thousands of displaced persons from the Gulf Coast region sought assistance from the Middle Georgia Regional Development Center (MGRDC). Their Area Agency on Aging, in partnership with the Red Cross, other regional development organizations and the state, helped some of the most vulnerable of their new neighbors. At that time of extreme need, MGRDC identified avenues of aid for the elderly and provided temporary housing assistance. The Atlanta Regional Council (ARC) dedicated hundreds of staff hours toward helping Hurricane Katrina evacuees, especially the poor and elderly, by placing individuals in nursing homes and shelters. ARC also provided desperately needed technical support for the New Orleans rescue and recovery efforts. ARC played a critical role in the rescue and recovery operations from a distance by supplying GIS mapping of the area enhanced with oblique technology, which resulted in the development of invaluable laminated maps of New Orleans and surrounding locations that are still being used by FEMA and the National Guard. Recovery Progress is Immense Back in Southern Mississippi, great progress can be seen, thanks in large part to the efforts of SMPDD. Working with FEMA and other Federal entities, SMPDD has provided mapping services, aided with distribution and registration of federal benefits and identified sites for temporary housing. As recovery transitions into rebuilding, SMPDD has been tapped to lead the region's economic development by implementing a $50 million grant from the Department of Labor for employment assistance. SMPDD is also working with EDA and USDA Rural Development to identify potential economic development projects as well as provide support workshops for local officials and businesses. SMPDD has assisted seniors in the region by coordinating volunteers for the Area Agency on Aging, distributing meal services and gift certificates, as well as providing insurance counseling to displaced seniors. Helping Displaced People Find Jobs, Housing In another region impacted by Hurricane Katrina, the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SAPRC), headquarted in Mobile, has focused on business development and jobs. Being so close to the hardest hit areas of the Gulf Coast, the south Alabama region has absorbed thousands of their coastal neighbors and has been working hard to assist local governments with the sudden needs of businesses and job placements. As knowledgeable experts in grant writing and loans, SAPRC staff members have aided the transition of many businesses from displaced to operational. Mindful that having a job provides stability and self-sufficiency, SAPRC has diligently placed hundreds of workers in their region and shielded its member governments from additional financial strain by performing services normally executed by local governments. Like other regional development organizations, SARPC has specifically met the needs of seniors in the area by providing important personal services that can be neglected in times of tragedy. Home repair and debris removal are common but help in the form of funding assistance for prescribed medications and replacement of eyeglasses and orthodontic prosthetics made an immediate difference in the lives of those in need. The list of what the Kisatchie-Delta Regional Planning and Development District has been working on is long and varied. They provided temporary working space for federal officials, conducted direct business counseling, utilized a new in-house Entrepreneur Development program, provided GIS mapping to recovery efforts and even offered maps to wayward evacuees looking for the best way to move around a new town. Similar to other jurisdictions adjacent to severely damaged communities, their focus has been on facilitating the transition of displaced persons and businesses into a new community and aiding the recovery of damaged communities however possible. A small regional development organization located in central Louisiana, the staff of Kisatchie-Delta dug into the relief effort after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita by volunteering at a Red Cross Shelter near their office. Executive Director Heather Urena wished that they could provide more hands-on help to the thousands of evacuees and their member governments, but she is proud of the work they have accomplished. “We were flexible enough to respond to anyone’s technical assistance needs, whether that was officials from EDA, Homeland Security, the state, or local folks. We were helping to connect the dots, providing resources and doing anything that was asked of us,” said Urena. She then added with a laugh, “We thought we were working hard before!”
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