But For the Grace of God Go I

Dear Friends:

October 1st brought us midway into the annual hurricane season. It also brought several sighs of relief.

Each year, Americans (especially those of us who live in Florida or along the Gulf Coast) rush out to get our hurricane tracking maps (Publix prints them on the back of paper shopping bags) and then we spend the next four months semi holding our breath -- just hoping and praying no major storms will hit us this year. So far so good. We have been lucky, but we still have five more weeks before the season officially ends.

Florida had its share of back to back bad storms in 1994. Since then we've done well. Although saw over 20 inches of rain and major flooding up and down the St. John's River and too many bad tornados to even count, we have been lucky and we count our blessings.

For a complete account of all the federal disaster declarations over the past 50 or so years, visit www.fema.gov and be in shock!

Last year, the Gulf Coast was pounded several times. New Orleans thought for sure Gustav would bring back a second round of Katrina's fury but, luckily, the storm hit to the west and did not do as much destruction as initially anticipated. Hurricane Ike was another story. It was the third costliest storm to ever hit the United States right after Katrina and Andrew, which tore up south Florida over a decade ago. Experts say the damage from Ike will take at least as long to clean up and rebuild as it did after Katrina. The last work camp from Katirna was located in Mississippi. It just closed last June.

Rebuilding homes and lives after a natural disaster is a very long process. Even when communities are rebuilt they still are not the same -- everything changes.

Each time I read about a disaster or hear about a crisis in some other location I can't help but think "but for the grace of God" it was not us. I live on the east coast of Florida. Our state is like a big thumb stuck out in the ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Florida is a sitting duck. Mobile home parks are especially vulnerable.

Just look at Barefoot Bay located just north of Vero Beach right near where the Indian River shares a waterway that leads into the Atlantic. There is something about that location -- maybe its the water, the air or whatever . . . but for some odd reason that community seems to experience some type of flooding or damage over and over again. When it does --those of us to the north, the south and the west breath deep and say once again "but for the grace of God."

The fact is that no location on earth is safe from the increase in natural and man-made disasters. Communities need to untite and pool resources and figure out proactively how to plan for a potential event. Families also need to have a clear plan as to how they would respond. Churches need written disaster plans and should understand how valuable training in crisis counseling and disaster response can be not only for their own congregations but for the community at large.

The Florida Crisis Consortium is currently training spiritual counselors to work side by side with mental health officials to respond to disasters and to conduct door to door assessments after a crisis happens. Here is a great opportunity for people of faith to offer hope. For more information on this visit www.floridashealth.com/prepare or contact Lynne_drawdy@doh.state.fl.us. Paid training and paid deployment opportunities are available.

Communities need to unite and pool resources. The time to get training, build relationships and create response plans is NOW -- not AFTER a disaster hits.

Not only that, organized teams are better able to respond to nearby communities in need. Here is our opportunity to share the love and hope in Christ to hurting people right in their hour of need. I believe that is the very essence of our Christian faith. It is all good to send money to far off missions but what about filling gaps and serving critical needs right here at home?

Families also need to have a clear plan as to how they would respond in an emergency. We all believe we'll be able to think on our feet and respond as needed but would we really? Churches need written disaster plans to help protect assets and to take care of their own congregation members while also exploring ways they can be a resource and an asset to the community at large.

Just think, if every church specializes in one aspect of disaster prep, response and relief communities can become strong enough to cope. When the church is organized it becomes a valuable asset to local government and there is less liklihood of duplication or territorial disputes. There are plety of resources available to get churches organized and trained with credentials local, state and national government will recognize and appreciate. When disaster strikes, people must work together. For online training visit www.actsworldrelief.org or www.fema.gov.

For two days I wondered if my children's aunt Lena, her family and the church she and her husband pastor had been swept away by the huge tsunami which washed over American Samoa last week. I finally got word that she and her immediate family were safe in a hotel in Hawaii. The school they ran, and her Samoan husband's family did not fare so well -- they were in direct line of the 22 foot wave.

On September 21, 2009 20 inches of rain fell over metro Atlanta causing over 100 roads and three major highways to close. The roller-coasters at Six Flags in Murietta were nearly sunk under the red clay muddy waters. Far worse, at least seven people lost their lives.

Volunteers are desperately needed in the Atlanta region right now to help muck out homes and to assist with clean-up and to eventually help rebuild. There are several national relief ministries looking for short and long term volunteers. Individuals as well as church groups are needed and it does not require special skills to clean up debris or to muck out a home or business.

To read about the storm or for video clips visit www.wsbtv.com in Atlanta or go to www.abc.newsgo.com.

To volunteer for a few days or weeks, contact www.operationblessing.org, www.cityimpactministries.org; www.actsworldrelief.org or www.somebodycares.org.

If you are asking what all this has to do with Random Acts think twice. The planning you do today will make it easier if a disaster strikes. The prayers, money or volunteer hours you spend now to help your business, church, community or a national relief group prepare or respond to a crisis will bless disaster victims and will strengthen our local and national ability to respond.

Get involved.

Blessing,
Cindi (aka. POETIC JUSTICE)

CALL TO ACTION: PORTRAITS OF HUNGER 2009

Dear Friends:

My friend Sandy and I went to Maitland last night to attend the PORTRAITS OF HUNGER 2009 event put on by the Second Harvest Food Bank of Orlando. Each year Second Harvest sponsors a photo contest to help raise awareness about the issue of hunger in our community. Congratulations to GK Sherman for having this year's winning photo. As most of you know, Second Harvest has food banks all over the world and serves as a collection and distribution center for food items that filter down to feeding programs and food pantries at the local level. I encourage you to check out their website at www.centralfloridafoodbank.com.

Check out their calendar of events and get involved in any of their ongoing community awareness efforts throughout the year. If you live in the Orlando area, you might want to check out the Canstruction project taking place at the Florida Mall starting October 18, 2009. Teams from around the community will build sculptures out of canned food items. The can-struction sculptures will be on display all week at the Florida Mall (October 18-25).

Today I'd like to write about the issue of hunger here in America. I did a little reseach and this is what I found on www.worldvision.org:

1. 35.5 million people - including 12.6 million children - live in households that experience hunger or the risk of hunger. This represents more than one in ten households in the United States (10.9 percent).
2. 4.0 percent of U.S. households experience hunger. Some people in these households frequently skip meals or eat too little, sometimes going without food for a whole day. 11.1 million people, including 430 thousand children, live in these homes.
3. 6.9 percent of U.S. households are at risk of hunger. Members of these households have lower quality diets or must resort to seeking emergency food because they cannot always afford the food they need. 24.4 million people - including 12.2 million children - live in these homes.
4. Preschool and school-aged children who experience severe hunger have higher levels of chronic illness, anxiety and depression, and behavior problems than children with no hunger, according to a recent study.
   (Sources: Bread for the World, Hunger Basics, 2008; World Bank World Development Report, 2008; UNICEF, 2008; Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2009)

These are some pretty staggering statistics. Anyone who has a food program or who works with agencies helping citizens cope with our current economic crisis will quickly tell you that the problem of hunger in America is getting worse by the day. Anyone currently unemployed--with or without a family to support also understands the issue first hand. It wasn't that long ago when $30 or $40 filled the entire shopping cart. Today its just a drop in the bucket -- a couple of plastic bags worth that will not get a typical family through the week.

I attend Zion Christian Church in Palm Bay, FL where our own food pantry is now serving over 200 families every Monday morning. According to Walt, who oversees the food program, this is a drastic increase from just a couple of months ago and every week the numbers are growing. Each Sunday afternoon, Pastor Terry feeds the homeless at His Place on the corner of US1 and Strawbridge Avenue in Melbourne and you can see by the large gathering in the parking lot that more people are coming out for that weekly meal. The food pantry at the Tabernacle Community Church on Aurora Road in Melbourne also is seeing a sharp increase and now distributes food on Thursday and Friday mornings rather than once a week.

These are examples of how items donated to Second Harvest Food Bank in Orlando trickle down to serve our own food programs in Brevard County. You can donate time or food items to the food bank in Orlando or to these and other feeding programs in your city direct. It doesn't take much to make a difference. Imagine if everyone reading this blog gave three cans and asked at least three others to do the same and so on. Remember the movie "Play it Forward'? I f you have not seen it, rent it today. If you have seen it, pass this on. Do the math. This is the essence of the entire Random Acts Movement.

As long as the economy is bleak, there will be a growing hunger problem in our own backyard. The question is, what will we do to resolve it?

The U.S. Census Bureau released its latest figures on poverty for September 2009. It is at an 11th year high of 13.2%, or 39.8 million people. The poverty rate for children is at 19%. According to the director of the Orlando's Second Harvest Food Bank, this equates to just over 100,000 kids in Central Florida. To get a better picture of the magnitude, you could fill up the Amway Arena five times over with children living in poverty, said Dave Krepcho, director and CEO of Orlando's Second Harvest Food Bank. In his online blog, Krepcho reports that local schools are also seeing large increases this year in the number of children that are attending and are homeless. The same is true on the Space Coast and all across America. This is not just a big city or a rural problem. This issue hits suburbia. It effects you and me.

According to Krepcho, the U.S. government’s definition of poverty is based on a 50 year old formula of three times the typical food bill and doesn’t take into account the rising costs of medical care, transportation, child care and housing expenses. The U.S. poverty rate for a family of four, equates into approximately $21,000 per year. Personally, I don't know any family that could make ends meet on that small salary.

According to the latest U.S. Census figures, the typical American household made less money last year than it made a decade ago. There are now more than 2.1 million people in the State of Florida receiving Food Stamp benefits as opposed to just over a little over 1 million two years ago. And that does not help the unemployed. The average individual collecting unemployment in Florida collects about $250 per week - just enough to tip them over the amount that would make them eligible for food stamps.

Dan Walker, heads up a para-church organization here in Brevard County called Love, INC. Volunteers are desperately needed to work phone lines in the clearinghouse to help meet the demand of the increased number of calls for help. Phone lines are open on Tuesday's and Thursdays for citizens in need of assistance. The great thing about Love, Inc is that it does not operate like other charitable groups that hand out funds. Instead the ministry offers long-term assistance and self-sufficiency plans to callers needing help coping with various stressors often related to our current economic climate. Churches in our community partner with Love, Inc. to provide sustainable solutions and multi-faceted assistance such as parenting and budgeting classes, work teams to do home repairs, mentors and spiritual help.

The top three requests for emergency help at Love, Inc and at 211 agencies throughout Central Florida are utilities assistance, rent, and food. As I see it, there are three ways you can get involved. Donate time or money, spread the word about these and other valuable resource in our region and, finally, encourage your church to partner with agencies such as Love, Inc. and the Second Harvest Food Bank.

I am currently writing a magazine article on ways churches and faith-based community groups are coping with the changing face and higher demands of hunger in America. I am looking to interview pastors, agency directors and community leaders who are thinking and working out of the box to find community-based solutions. I am especially interested in gleaning projects, community gardens, partnerships between churches and local businesses, and other projects that are unique and cutting edge. If you, or anyone you know, has pilot or operational programs like this anywhere in the United States. please have them contact me via this blog ASAP.

You can find me at several social networks these days, try creativeconcepts123@blogspot.com, at cindicourbat@changeagents.org on facebook with cindicourbat@facebook.org and now, even on twitter, under the name Ezekiel's pen. The article needs to profile far beyond Central Florida and I need to gather the data by mid-October. Please pass this call for action on to everyone you know.

More importantly, please find ways to help stop hunger in your own community.

Blessings,

Cindi (aka. Poetic Justice)