ELCA Disaster Response
ELCA churchwide response to disasters in the U.S. and around the world; look for sections of this blog related to specific disaster locations. Comments are welcomed and moderated.
Lutherans helping Haitian Americans in Florida
Greetings!
My name is Rev. Kevin Massey. I’m the director of the ELCA’s Domestic Disaster Response and Lutheran Disaster Response. I’m in Florida today supporting the work of a wonderful Lutheran agency, Lutheran Services Florida. Lutheran Services Florida has responded to a request for help from the State of Florida to help them serve many Haitian Americans who are coming to the United States from Haiti following the earthquake.
Meet Denis Noreus with Lutheran Services Florida. Denis is coordinating Creole speaking volunteers who meet Haitian Americans coming to the United States. Thank you for your compassionate service Denis!
Lutheran Services Florida has strong relationships with the Haitian American community and is coordinating Creole speaking volunteers at the Sanford International Airport near Orlando and in Tampa. I visited their work at Sanford Airport today, and you can’t imagine how relieved people were getting off the plane to be met by someone who welcomes them and speaks their language and comforts them!
The ELCA has granted Lutheran Services Florida with $25,000 to support their work caring for the needs of those whom they serve affected by the Haiti Earthquake. Lutheran Services Florida is using these funds to provide emergency hardship funds to help people arriving who need some basic needs provided for. Thank you to all who have given to the ELCA’s Haiti Response. You have already helped many through the work of Lutheran Services Florida.
Please pray for Denis Noreus and the many volunteers and staff of Lutheran Services Florida as they serve in this way. Please pray for the people in Haiti and everywhere affected by the Earthquake.
In Christ, Kevin
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on February 1st, 2010 at 10:23 am
My name is Sam Sipes and I am the CEO of Lutheran Services Florida. Our work recieving repatraition flights in Sanford Florida has slowed down from the peak of seeing 1200-1500 evacuees per day last week. We are now seeing 200-500 evacuees per day in Sanford.
We will be recieving our third medical evacuation flight in Tampa, Florida tonight. Unlike Sanford where evacuees generally are only passing through in route to other locations in the US, in Tampa, we are working with seriously injured survivors and their failies. The injured and ill are admitted to area hospitals, and we provide housing and other assistance to their relatives that are accompanying them. Her is a link to a recent news story about our work in Tampa. http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/health/doctor_jo/129-dr-jo-doctors-return-from-haiti
on February 2nd, 2010 at 11:35 am
Thank you Sam for your terrific work! Thanks for sharing this update. We continue to pray for your agency and the ministry that you are doing.