The massive efforts of many U.S. advocacy groups, faith-based organizations and special interest groups were one of the most comprehensive in this nation’s history. The following is a brief compilation of several organizations’ efforts to help the disability community in the Gulf States region:

American Diabetes Association (ADA)
The ADA responded to specific unmet needs of more than 205,000 people affected by diabetes and served as a conduit of credible and timely information to public and health care providers.

Arc of the Unitd States
The Arc of the United States, a national organization of and for people with mental retardation and related disabilities and their families, developed a central online clearinghouse so family members, service coordinators, advocates or any interested persons have a place to list people or families who needed support. People throughout the United States also could access the Web site to offer housing, employment and other assistance for those in need.

Community and Residential Services Association (CARSA)
CARSA, a trade organization for providers of services with developmental disabilities, in cooperation with the ARC of Louisiana, the Developmental Disabilities Council and The Advocacy Center, assisted families with relatives who were evacuated from community homes and other service programs in the Greater New Orleans area.

Louisiana School for the Deaf, the Baton Rouge Deaf Action Center and Louisiana Advocacy Groups and Faith-based Organizations
Unscathed by Hurricane Katrina, the Louisiana School for the Deaf provided temporary shelter, food and clothing to deaf evacuees and their families. Local service providers (i.e., Louisiana Commission for the Deaf, Louisiana Association of the Deaf, Louisiana Career Development Center, Catholic Deaf Center, First Baptist Deaf Church, Assembly of God Deaf Church, and Louisiana School for the Deaf) coordinated services for deaf evacuees. The Baton Rouge Deaf Action Center provided interpreters and connected the deaf evacuees with food stamps, unemployment services, social security, FEMA services, and counseling.

National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI)
With the assistance of concerned grassroots leaders, NAMI established the NAMI Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund, which supported state organizations, local affiliates, consumers, family members of and citizens with mental illness who were affected by Hurricane Katrina.

National Hemophilia Foundation
The National Hemophilia Foundation worked to connect people to necessary services, served as a clearinghouse for up-to-date information and was instrumental in ensuring that more than 300,000 units of blood clotting factor products were delivered to hemophilia patients in the Gulf States region.

National Organization on Disability (NOD) Report on Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuees (SNAKE) Project
Under its Special Needs Assessment for Katrina Evacuees (SNAKE) Project, NOD’s Emergency Preparedness Initiative deployed four rapid assessment teams consisting of nationally-recognized emergency management practitioners into the Gulf region to gather information to investigate the status of response and recovery for people with disabilities, the elderly and medically managed individuals. Their goal was to identify and review systemic points of weakness, as well as opportunities for immediate actionable corrections that will alleviate suffering during emergency response operations.

Spina Bifida Association
The Spina Bifida Association worked with its chapters to coordinate person-to-person/family-to-family in order to match needs and resources; referred families to clinics and medical and psychosocial professionals; paired individuals with Spina Bifida and their families with other families to help ease the transition into new school districts; and matched people with accessible transportation.

United Cerebral Palsy (UCP)
United Cerebral Palsy provided medical equipment, long-term supports, counseling services, and referrals to medical professionals to thousands of families with special needs displaced by Hurricane Katrina in Texas and across the southern United States.

The United States Society for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (USSAAC)
USSAAC provided individuals reliant on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (ACC), their families, and the professionals serving them enhanced access to ACC equipment and materials.

The Wheelchair Foundation
The Wheelchair Foundation, a nonprofit organization leading an international effort to create awareness of the needs and abilities of people with physical disabilities, organized the Wheelchair Foundation Katrina Relief effort—a donation program that facilitated the delivery of new wheelchairs to Hurricane Katrina victims.

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