It is the nature of major disasters to create chaotic conditions. Combining the psychological state of the victims and the incredible maze of regulations and policy decisions often lead to confusion, frustration and anger. I believe that much of this could be alleviated with better communication and networking.
My participation as a national disaster volunteer with the American Red Cross since 1982 has provided me with hands-on experience of relief and recovery efforts in many types of disasters across the United States and Puerto Rico. Working primarily as a liaison between the Red Cross and community organizations has given me a comprehensive view of how the community and disaster organizations come together to define and meet the basic needs of disaster victims. While the overall system attempts to be responsive, it can be a huge and cumbersome bureaucratic maze of government agencies and non-profit organizations with overlapping functions.
The web pages provided here contain a broad array of information and some links to other excellent disaster web sites. In this section I try to provide unique perspectives, identify gaps in services and facilitate resource sharing among service organizations that help victims of disasters. I hope that my experience can be of help to people who are giving or receiving assistance. Your comments and questions are welcome.
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Lakshmi@CristalVerde.com