help

my dad's a former baptist preacher, a former off shore oil rig foreman who used to work off the coast of new orleans. my aunt lives, lived rather, in biloxi, ms. i used to drive through slidell, la twice a year to go to my grandparents' house in deep east texas. i've lived in mississippi, i've driven across lake ponchartrain. the gulf region holds a very special place in my heart. my heart breaks for the people that have had their lives turned upside down by the hurricane. my heart is angry because of the way this has been handled. i'm trying (rather unsuccessfully) to put my anger aside and use that energy to help others.

my aunt, who worked at one of the casinos that was "relocated" by the hurricane, has been in contact with my grandmother. my dad's talked with the lady whose phone she used to call. her and her kids are homeless, but thankfully alive and okay. they are, hopefully, on their way to my dad's place, possibly to mine or my brother's to start over.

please give until you have nothing left to give. if you have room in your house or apartment, please consider opening it to someone who lost theirs because of the hurricane. please donate as much of your time and resources as you can give (not as much as you can spare). the people you are helping are sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters, uncles and...aunts.

there are numerous ways you can help the relief and recovery efforts in louisiana, mississippi, and alabama. if you know of others, please use the comment section of this post to list them. here are a few that i've got:

salvation army
moveon.org
habitat for humanity
cnn help center
disaster relief effort
noah's wish

here are some other links that have been sent to me, but i don't have the time create the html for the links for everything. some are for information, some are for volunteering.

Federal Emergency Management Agency
Phone: 1-800-621-FEMA
http://www.fema.gov/



Louisiana Homeland Security
http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov/


City of New Orleans
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx


Louisiana Governor's Office
http://www.gov.state.la.us/


Catholic Charities
Phone: 1-800-919-9338
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org/


FEMA Charity tips
http://www.fema.gov/rrr/help2.shtm


National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
http://www.nvoad.org/


Louisiana Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
http://www.la-spca.org/


National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster
Ande Miller, Executive Director
Email: amiller@nvoad.org
Phone: 703-339-5596


Local Red Cross contacts —


American Red Cross - Southeast Louisiana Chapter:
2640 Canal St.
New Orleans, LA 70119
Phone: (504) 620-3105 or (800) 229-8191
Fax: (504) 827-2135
http://www.arcno.org/?id=5⊂=3


Regional Service Centers —


NORTHSHORE REGION:
Regional Office
619 N. Tyler, Suite D
Covington, LA 70433
Phone: (985) 892-4317


Boothville, LA:
Phone: (985) 534-7449


Slidell, LA:
Phone: (985) 643-5608


Hammond, LA:
Phone: (985) 542-3469


Bogalusa, LA:
Phone: (985) 732-4227


BAYOU PARISHES REGION:
Regional Office
1231 Canal Blvd.
Thibodaux, LA 70302
Phone: (985) 447-3229
(Mail to: P.O. Box 102, Thibodaux, LA 70302)


Houma, LA:
Phone: (985) 872-6584


RIVER PARISHES REGION:
107 Maryland Dr., Suite D and E
Luling, LA 70070
Phone: (985) 785-0647


LaPlace, LA
Phone: (985) 652-9963


American Red Cross - Northwest Louisiana Chapter
4221 Linwood Avenue
Shreveport, LA 71108
Phone: (318) 865-9545
Fax: (318) 868-4111
Email: redcross@louisianaredcross.org
http://www.louisianaredcross.org


Red Cross Disaster Assistance info: (866) GET-INFO (866-438-4636)
http://www.redcross.org/contactus/


FEMA Regional Offices —
http://www.fema.gov/regions/


FEMA Region IV
(Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Tennessee)
3003 Chamblee-Tucker Rd.
Atlanta, GA 30341
Phone: (770) 220-5200


FEMA Region VI
(Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas)
Federal Regional Center
800 N. Loop 288
Denton, Texas 76209
Phone: (940) 898-5399


State Emergency Organizations:


FEMA State Emergency Contact — http://www.fema.gov/fema/statedr.shtm


Alabama Department of Public Safety
Phone: (334) 242-4445
Website: http://www.dps.state.al.us


Alabama Emergency Management Agency
5898 County Road 41
P.O. Drawer 2160
Clanton, Alabama 35046-2160
Phone: 205-280-2200
Fax: 205-280-2495
Website: http://www.ema.alabama.gov


Florida Division of Emergency Management
2555 Shumard Oak Blvd.
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-2100
Phone: 850-413-9900
Email: florida.disaster@dca.state.fl.us
Website: http://www.floridadisaster.org


Florida Emergency Preparedness Association
Phone: 850-906-0779
Fax: 850-893-1845
Email: fepa@fepa.org
Website: http://www.fepa.org


Louisiana Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness
Phone: 225-925-7500
Fax: 225-925-7501
Website: http://www.ohsep.louisiana.gov


Louisiana Office of Emergency Preparedness
7667 Independence Blvd.
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70806
Phone: (225) 925-7500
Fax: (225) 925-7501
http://www.loep.state.la.us


Mississippi Emergency Management Agency
P.O. Box 4501 - Fondren Station
Jackson, Mississippi 39296-4501
Phone: (601) 352-9100
Toll Free Phone: (800) 442-6362
Fax: (601) 352-8314
http://www.mema.state.ms.us
http://www.msema.org/mitigate/mssaferoominit.htm


Georgia Emergency Management Agency
P.O. Box 18055
Atlanta, Georgia 30316-0055
Phone: (404) 635-7000
Fax: (404) 635-7205
http://www.State.Ga.US/GEMA/