View From a Height

Jewish Community Responses to Katrina

The response to Katrina from the Jewish Comunity sadly seems to be suffering from a lack of organization. Aside from the Chabad webpage, which includes a blog and appears to have been planned years in advance (< Fill in Hurricane Name Here >), there appears to be no central location for coordinating a national response to a regional problem.

However, that isn't keeping people from trying. Reader Stephanie Seldin Howard of Santa Clarita, CA writes that her son's junior high is adopting a family who's relocating there, and that she herself is donating furniture to that effort. She's also got a boy scout troop, a cub scout troop, and a reform congregation who want to help, but have so far no place to direct their efforts.

Reader Judi Cohen of Greensboro, NC is offering her home to a Jewish family who needs a place to stay. Contact her here.

At the same time, Houston Federation has organized a list of contacts for channeling specific goods and services.

And New Orleans Federation is still trying to locate people who need help. Email adamfederation@yahoo.com to get in touch. (Note: that email address has changed from a prior posting. The one here is the latest.)