Habitat Efforts for Katrina and Rita Victims

Habitat for Humanity has brought together many different organizations to aid those left homeless from hurricane's Katrina and Rita. These partnerships have maximized the effectiveness of Habitat's potential in the hit region.

Both the Salvation Army and Lutheran Social Services have helped Habitat with their building efforts. As a result, 600 qualified applications for new homes were sent to the Gulf Coast affiliates. The Salvation Army has donated over $1.5 million in financial assistance to 150 Habitat for Humanity homeowners, and also allocated $7.4 million to support the 2008 Carter Work Project in the Gulf Coast. Other partnerships with Habitat have resulted in 75 new homes.

Habitat committed $4 million to Church World Service (CWS), a faith-based relief, development and refugee-assistance volunteer organization, to assist in the repair of 600 hurricane-damaged homes in a two-year period. In the first year, Church World Service distributed $2.6 million to more than 30 Long-Term Recovery Committee community groups and funded 415 total projects for hurricane recovery in Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Habitat’s partnership with Church World Service was recognized with the “Award of Excellence” by the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster in April 2007.

Habitat is supporting Rebuilding Together, the nation’s largest volunteer-based organization revitalizing and preserving homes for elderly, disabled and low-income homeowners. The support includes assisting with the operation of Gulf Coast Rebuilding Together affiliates, facilitates relationship building between Rebuilding Together and Habitat affiliates, and renovates hurricane-damaged homes for an estimated 200 families per year.

http://www.habitat.org/gulfrecoveryeffort/partnerships_collaborations.aspx