LDRNY Eletter | Eletter Archive
Dear Friends of Lutheran Disaster Response of New York:
Here’s the October 29th 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 .
LDR on the scene of California fires
More than 20 wildfires continue to burn across southern California, fueled by the strong and persistent Santa Ana winds and drought conditions across most of the region. Lutheran Disaster Response and its affiliate agency, Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest, are assessing the needs of the affected communities. Lutheran Disaster Response coordinator Tempie Beaman has been in constant communication with local clergy, as well as representatives from the ELCA Pacifica and Southwest California synods and the LCMS Pacific Southwest District. To read the full story, go to www.LDRNY.org. Click on Top News.
Lutheran church struck by tornado
A tornado damaging the roof of Salem Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Brooklyn reminds us of the need to be prepared for the unexpected. Pr. Harriet Wieber asks for prayers as the church rebuilds. To read the story, go to www.LDRNY.org.
LDR director takes new call in New England
God’s blessings to Heather Feltman, director of LDR, who has accepted a new call to Lutheran Social Services of New England as president and CEO. Pr. Kevin Massey will be acting director of LDR and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response. Feltman assumes her new role Jan. 7.
Lutheran Social Services honors LDRNY
LDRNY Director of Operations Mikki Baloy received the Kujenga Jamii (Building Community Ministry) Award on behalf of LDRNY at Lutheran Social Services of New York’s annual meeting on Oct. 21. The hand-carved trophy was given in recognition of LDRNY's six years of service to those affected by disaster, and for its efforts in disaster preparedness and work with Project LIFE. LSSNY is an important LDRNY partner.
Buy one, get one free Go-Bag offer
LDRNY offers Ready-2-Go bags at a special two-for-one price for the month of November. Order now and get two complete Go-Bags for $70, plus shipping and handling. Keep one and give the other as a gift, or have one at home and one for the car or office. For more information, or to order, go to www.LDRNY.org.
Faithful Response offers workshops
• Faithful Response, an LDRNY partner, and the Nassau County Office of Emergency Management, sponsor two free workshops on Comprehensive Acute Traumatic Stress Management. The workshops are Dec. 1 and Dec. 8, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., both at the Syosset Firehouse (Station 3), 205 South Oyster Bay Road, Syosset. Dr. Ray Shelton, director of professional development with the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, facilitates. To learn more about CATSM, visit www.aaets.org. Register by Nov. 23.
• An all-day suicide-prevention conference entitled Putting the Pieces Together: Strategies for Suicide Prevention, Nov. 30, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Hilton, Melville. Co-sponsored by New York State’s Office of Mental Health, speakers include Emmy award-winning actress and best-selling author Mariette Hartley and Dr. Madelyn Gould of Columbia University. Workshop topics will include “PTSD and Our Heroes”, “Cultural Responses to Mental Illness and Suicide”, “Unprocessed Trauma and the Suicide Connection”, “Suicide Prevention Among Older Adults”, and “The Family’s Perspective.” Fee for the conference is $50 in advance, $60 at the door, $25 for students, and includes continental breakfast and full lunch.
To register or for more information, visit www.faithfulresponse.org or call 516-679-0080. Michael Arcari at help@faithfulresponse.org
Congresswoman advocates for 9/11 health
"It’s appalling that six years after the 9/11 attacks, our brave first responders, area residents, and workers still lack a coordinated federal health monitoring and treatment program," wrote New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney. She cosponsored and introduced the “9/11 Health and Compensation Act” (H.R. 3543), a bill supported by the New York State AFL-CIO that would ensure that everyone exposed to the toxins of Ground Zero has a right to be medically monitored and anyone who is sick as a result has a right to treatment. It would expand care to the entire exposed community, including residents, area workers and students, and to those who came from across the country to respond to the 9/11 attacks. H.R. 3543 would also reopen the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund, and build on the expertise of the Centers of Excellence (currently at the FDNY, Mt. Sinai Hospital, Bellevue Hospital, Queens College, SUNY Stony Brook, and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey), which are providing high-quality health care to thousands of responders.
View the progress at Ground Zero
As rebuilding continues at Ground Zero, the area is really taking shape. If you haven’t viewed photos recently, the area looks nothing like the last time you’re seen it. For the latest images of planned development, including the Freedom Tower, visit http://www.wtc.com.
Hurricane assistance offered
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) announced a reimbursement program that will provide relocation assistance to disaster victims displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The program will reimburse eligible applicants for relocation expenses up to $4,000 that were incurred between Feb. 1, 2006, and Feb. 29, 2008. Relocation assistance will be limited to travel costs. For more information on FEMA's Relocation Assistance program or to request reimbursement of relocation expenses, call 1-800-621-FEMA (3362) (TTY: 1-800-462-7585). To prevent duplication of benefits, an applicant is only eligible to receive relocation assistance under either Hurricane Katrina (DR-1603-LA) or Hurricane Rita (DR-1607-LA), not both.
Tribute WTC Visitors Center features children’s 9/11 art
The Tribute WTC Visitors Center is hosting a new exhibition, Coming Together: Our Children Respond to 9/11 with Hope for the Future. The show, which runs through Jan. 18, is produced in collaboration with the NYU Child Study Center. The exhibit features paintings, collages and multimedia created between 2001 and 2006 by children in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. All of the work was created with the support of parents and teachers who recognized the strong need young people had and have to express their reactions to the catastrophic events of 9/11/01. To read more, go to www.LDRNY.org and click on Top News.
CERT Program trains volunteers
The CERT Program educates people about disaster preparedness for hazards that may impact their area and trains them in basic disaster response skills.
Using the training learned in the classroom and during exercises, members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following an event when professional responders are not immediately available to help. Every CERT volunteer is required to complete an eight-week, 24-hour Basic Training course. For more information including class schedules for Long Island, call 516-573-0648 or visit www.nassaucountyny.gov/agencies/OEM/CC/CERT
Don’t forget to check out LDRNY’s 5-year report
LDRNY has mailed its five-year retrospective report to all its partner agencies and donors. To see a thumbnail of the book, go to www.LDRNY.org. If you’d like a print copy mailed to you, contact Mikki Baloy (mikki@LDRNY.org)
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
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