Stimulus refreshes agencies for storm survivors

Orlando Diocese also benefits from new parish planning guide to mitigate the vunerability of church properties.

LAURA DODSON | FLORIDA CATHOLIC CORRESPONDENT

Posted: 06.17.09

Prayer is a way to ask for help while centering hearts on God, Bishop Thomas Wenski reminded churchgoers June 1 at the Mass to Avert Storms at the Cathedral of St. James. The Mass is celebrated every year on June 1, the official start of the hurricane season.

In his homily, Bishop Wenski said: “The catechism teaches that prayer ‘is the lifting up of our minds and hearts to God.’ And while we pray that God keeps the storms away this year, we, in the very act of prayer, also seek to keep our hearts turned to the Lord whatever may happen. In fact, if our hearts are sufficiently turned to the Lord, then we won’t need any calamities to teach us to keep our priorities straight.”

– Laura Dodson | 06.17.09

ORLANDO | His voice literally sang in jubilation as Deacon Marcus Hepburn, emergency management specialist for Catholic Charities of Florida and the Florida Catholic Conference, declared, “It’s Christmas in June!”

Preparations for the 2009 hurricane season, which officially began June 1, have multiple facets that are empowering in the face of pending disaster.

“As part of the federal stimulus package, a few months ago Florida was given $30-plus million from a Social Services Block Grant (federal monies distributed to the states through Title XX of the Social Security Act) to reimburse agencies in Florida that helped survivors of the storms of 2008,” Hepburn explained.

“But now they’ve extended that reimbursement all the way back to the storms of 2005 – Dennis, Katrina, Rita and Wilma,” Hepburn added. “What’s really exciting is that our agencies did a lot in 2005.”

It is too early yet to know how much of the funds will be released to Catholic Charities of Central Florida Inc; however, the funds are fully unencumbered – recipient agencies will be able to use them in whatever way deemed necessary.

In addition, Hepburn announced that parishes in the Diocese of Orlando will be debuting a new program for disaster preparedness – “Six-Step Parish Planning Guide.”

“It’s going to put into the hands of the parishes a simple and easy guide to make parishes and communities less vulnerable and more resilient,” Hepburn stated.

At the invitation of Cathlic Charities of Central Florida, representatives from St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Altamonte Springs and St. Stephen Parish in Winter Springs joined other faith-based community agencies at a Seminole County workshop June 4 where the “Six-Step Parish Planning Guide” is offered as part of the long-term recovery efforts.

“We just completed our goals and objectives for the next five years,” shared Rosemary Kazyk, steward for ministry to the sick and bereavement for St. Mary Magdalen Parish, “and one of them is to have a disaster plan in place by 2011.”

Steps include how to canvas the special-needs populations of elderly and handicapped and create concrete plans for them, what to do in the event of a disaster and the procedures for long-term recovery. The document also considers the pastoral care issues of reaction to stress and compassion fatigue of volunteers.

The guide had its origins with the “All Hazard Plan” developed by the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston in 2002-2003. With permission from its authors, Hepburn rewrote the plan with the appropriate modifications for each diocese in Florida. Together, Hepburn and Tim Dinan, a member of Catholic Volunteers in Florida who is working as the emergency response and disaster relief coordinator at the Catholic Charities headquarters in Orlando, have developed a facilitators’ guide and produced the user-friendly “Six-Step Parish Planning Guide.”

Vince Edman, facilities director for St. Mary Magdalen Parish, added, “There are so many talented volunteers out there who can be called upon to carry out this plan for the community and there’s no one better than Catholic Charities to direct them.”

“Sometimes we focus on natural disasters,” Dinan said, “but it can be any disruption, for example a computer virus or a pandemic like swine flu. Disaster can be classified in many ways and there are different components to the plan – different procedures for tornadoes, or fires or hurricanes. Any time these disasters come about, our plans are fluid and can always be made better to help the public.”

Sarah Moody, marketing assistant for Catholic Charities, concluded, “Catholic Charities of Central Florida has a disaster plan for all regions of central Florida. We have a lot to plan for – a continuous learning program that we continuously update. The consumer too must prepare now. Don’t wait for the media to announce a storm is coming.”

For more information on Catholic Charities of Central Florida Inc. and to read its latest newsletter, please visit www.cflcc.org.

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