LDRNY Eletter | Eletter Archive
Dear Friends of Lutheran Disaster Response of New York:
Here’s the January 31st edition of Comfort & Renew Online, a monthly e-newsletter provided by LDRNY. If you have something to share, please drop an email to mikki@LDRNY.org .
Pr. Tom Taylor honored as Person of the Year
God’s blessings to Pr. Thomas Taylor, deputy director of LDRNY for Long Island, as he was honored recently as Person of the Year for 2007 by the Bellmore Herald. He was cited for his work, not only as a dedicated parish pastor, but as a caregiver to the caregivers. Pr, Taylor, pastor of Grace, North Bellmore (ELCA), is chaplain to the North Bellmore Fire Department, and after 9/11 served as a chaplain at Ground Zero, St. Paul's Chapel and the morgue. After completing his master’s degree in social work in 2006, he has reached out to those who have suffered from trauma, particularly first- responders, and is a consultant to Faithful Response, an LDRNY partner, offering counseling services to those still affected by 9/11 on Long Island. The read the newspaper article, go to www.LDRNY.org and click on Top News.
Farewell service for Bishop Bouman, Feb. 2
A farewell service for Bishop Stephen Bouman, bishop of the Metropolitan New York Synod of the ELCA, is scheduled for Feb. 2, 4:30 p.m., at Saint Peter’s, Manhattan. Bishop Bouman, a founder of LDRNY after 9/11 and its president, has accepted a call to be executive director of the Evangelical Outreach and Congregational Ministry Unit (EOCM) of the ELCA offices in Chicago. He assumes his new position on Feb. 4. LDRNY wishes him good luck and Godspeed.
Unmet Needs Roundtable continues to serve those in need
The New York Disaster Interfaith Service (NYDIS), of which LDRNY is a founding member, has compiled data for the 9/11 Unmet Needs Roundtable's activities in 2007. During 51 sessions and 388 individual case presentations, 283 clients were awarded direct financial assistance. Many of these clients are recovery and clean-up workers who are now suffering from debilitating physical and mental illnesses as a result of their work at Ground Zero. Donors LDRNY, American Red Cross, Safe Horizon, God's Love is Needed Now, and the Orthodox Church in America granted approximately $1.45 million in 2007, representing an 80 percent increase over 2006.
Red Cross funds NYDIS’s Unmet Needs Roundtable
As part of the American Red Cross’s continued work to assist survivors of 9/11, it awarded $493,000 for New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS) to continue coordinating intensive case management services for 9/11 victims and ill recovery workers. The grant is good through June 2008. This final grant provides NYDIS with limited resources to continue its current work as the sole New York City agency funding community-based 9/11 case managers, coordinating case management services, and administering cash assistance grants via the New York City 9/11 Unmet Needs Roundtable.. As of Jan. 1, 2008, NYDIS has received $4.6 million from the Liberty Disaster Relief Fund since 2005.
NYDIS offers HOWCALM network
HOWCALM™, a secure web-based database system, is a free community service that tracks the logistics and resources of houses of worship, religious schools, and faith-based service providers. New York Disaster Interfaith Services (NYDIS), of which LDRNY is a founding member, coordinates the use of specific types of data with NYC OEM for mitigation planning and emergency response. The data is used with geographic imaging systems to map vulnerabilities and to ensure rapid and accurate allocation of services during disasters. Pastors can register their churches at www.howcalm.org or through www.nydis.org.
Ground Zero stairway to be preserved
The World Trade Center Survivors' Network, an LDRNY partner, is nearing resolution in its battle to preserve the Survivors' Stairway at Ground Zero. The Lower Manhattan Development Corp. will extract intact and move the entire run of stairs for preservation, including the remnant of the WTC Plaza landing still remaining at the top of the stairs. The stairs will also be relocated to the museum area to provide for "meaningful
incorporation of the story and significance of the staircase, within the primary narrative of the museum." Finally, the LMDC plan calls for part of the upper landing portion of the Stairway to be relocated to the new Memorial Plaza -- in an area dedicated to survivors. More details are available at www.SaveTheStairway.org.
Local legislators push for more funding
Sen. Hillary Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer, Sen. Frank Lautenberg, and Sen. Robert Menendez, along with Rep. Jerrold Nadler, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, and Rep. Vito Fossella called on President Bush to provide adequate funding for the health programs for the victims of the 9/11 attacks when he releases his budget request Feb. 4. According to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, the estimated need for the health programs in fiscal year 2008 was more than $200 million, of which the President only authorized $25 million.
Senate approves health coverage for ill 9/11 workers
New York Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Chuck Schumer, with colleagues from other states, announced final Senate passage of $108 million in federal funding to address the mounting health needs due to environmental hazards released after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. The bill will now go back to the House for final passage before being sent to the President for signature. The $108 million in new funding will go towards monitoring and treatment activities administered by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to help those who were exposed to toxins and smoke. The $51.5 million portion in the Fiscal Year 2008 Labor, Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill also expands the program beyond responders and rescue workers to entities that would provide services to residents, office and commercial workers, students, and other individuals who were exposed. More than six years after the attacks, persistent health effects have been documented among rescue and recovery workers, such as asthma, chronic sinusitis, and gastrointestinal conditions. Post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and other health effects have also been diagnosed among those who have been exposed.
Make a gift to LDRNY
LDRNY is grateful for the gifts it receives. You can earmark your gift to LDRNY for 9/11 assistance, programs for children, or wherever help is needed most. To send a gift, see the contact info below.
LDRNY contact info
To contact LDRNY, call 1-866-864-1600, or send an email to Mikki@ldrny.org. Visit the website for information on any of our programs – www.LDRNY.org.
LDRNY
22 Cortlandt St. 10007
New York, NY
1-866-864-1600
212-406-9736
# # #
|
