Program aids hurricane victims, hurts local groups
By Leigh Jones
Galveston County Daily News
3/22/2009

GALVESTON - The federal government is about to pour $25 million into 16 coastal counties, including Galveston, to help social service agencies meet the needs of residents who are still struggling to recover from Hurricane Ike.

But the financial windfall, set aside for a narrow mandate, might end up being more of a burden than a boon for local agencies.

The money will fund a team of case managers who will help connect hurting families with local groups that offer food, clothing and financial assistance.

But those agencies are struggling too.

Many lost their offices during the storm and most have watched their financial support base erode as donors are distracted by their own recovery efforts.

Although state officials managing the program acknowledge it is likely to add to the local agencies' burdens, it does not offer any money to them to help fund extra assistance.

Without getting some help themselves, some local groups say they'll have a hard time keeping up with the increasing needs.

Pilot Program

The Federal Emergency Management Agency began offering case management services after hurricanes Katrina and Rita, when social service agencies advocated for funding to provide long-term help for families trying to get back on their feet.

Through its Hurricane Ike response, the federal agency is testing different case management models to see which one it wants to adopt for future disasters, said Heather Gatlin, a vice president with Lutheran Disaster Response.

FEMA expects to help 30,000 families in the next 12 months, spending a little more than $1,900 on each, for a total of $58.2 million.

Gatlin's agency got the contract for the 16-county area that includes Galveston County. The Texas Health and Human Services Commission expects Lutheran Disaster Response to spend about $25 million assisting 12,000 families.

It in turn hired three other agencies to actually do the work.

Grace Community Services, a Houston-based disaster response agency, will hire 75 case managers to work with families in Galveston and eight other counties.

Case management starts with a thorough assessment of a family's needs, everything from housing to employment, Gatlin said.

The managers work with families to develop a plan with concrete goals, actions and timelines for recovery, Gatlin said.

"We help them move toward a full recovery, then we serve as advocates to connect the survivors to agencies that can meet their needs," she said.

Grace Community Services is already doing case management for about 100 families in Galveston.

Although the agency made a delivery of furniture, appliances and other household goods to its clients earlier last week, it will mostly rely on help from area volunteer organizations, agency founder Ruama Camp said.

No Spendable Dollars

After Katrina and Rita, island social service agencies like The Jesse Tree got lots of money and gift cards from people and church groups to help the storms' victims, executive director Ted Hanley said.

Donors understood money and in-kind donations were necessary to help people recover, which helped the agencies to wrap clients in the services they needed, he said.

But after Hurricane Ike, even the regular monthly donations the agency relied on before the storm have thinned out.

"I have increasing anxiety about what we're facing because, compared to Katrina, we have very few resources to offer people," he said. "I'm just not hearing of a really mobilized effort to find spendable dollars for that population."

Maximizing Limited Resources

The money the federal government is providing for case management cannot be spent on goods and services for disaster relief, said Paul Grubb, a director of special projects for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, the agency that is overseeing the project.

And there's no doubt the local agencies are strapped, he said.

But through the case management pilot program, FEMA will get a better understanding of what services and goods are needed for future disasters, he said.

All of the organizations that get contracts for case management will work with local agencies to maximize limited resources, Gatlin said.

"We truly are believers in maximizing and strengthening the local service providers," she said. "We will try to bring additional resources to them."

But Lutheran Disaster Relief is not opposed to bringing in outside agencies to help meet needs, if necessary, Gatlin said.

Funding Uncertain

Two agencies operating in Galveston have received donations dedicated to giving storm victims assistance they can't get from FEMA.

Houston Mayor Bill White's Gulf Coast Ike Relief Fund gave $600,000 to Houston-based Neighborhood Centers and $300,000 to the Galveston County Recovery Fund to provide direct aid to island residents.

And through relationships with larger agencies, some local groups have even been able to expand their services since Ike.

Through affiliations with the Houston Food Bank, which receives federal funding, Gleanings from the Harvest was able to help set up the distribution points for FEMA water and food aid immediately after the storm and has continued its regular food distributions, executive director Mark Davis said.

Gleanings also received a grant from the BP Foundation, the charitable arm of BP Energy Co., after the storm, as did other area agencies, and so far its local donors are still responding to appeals for funds, Davis said.

Local Agencies, Local Funding

Davis is quick to say he can't complain because his agency is blessed.

But he understands the frustration and anxiety some agencies are feeling because the flow of aid money they expected to be hitting the streets by now is just dribbling out of the fire house of funding, he said.

Agencies with national affiliations are receiving support through contracts awarded to those larger agencies, he said.

Funding sources might eventually be available to area agencies, but no one knows how or when the money will start flowing, Davis said.

The rub for local agencies is that they rely on local funding, which just isn't available right now, he said. And national funding isn't likely to go directly to local agencies, he said.

"The independent local groups are the ones providing services in the local area, but I'll be very surprised if we ever see two pennies to rub together."

Article online at www.galvnews.com