Helping in the Face of Disaster

On January 14th, Ellen Galinsky, President of Families and Work Institute, sent an email to Institute friends and colleagues asking them to tell us in a sentence or two what they or their organizations were doing to:
• send aid to Haiti;
• support Haitian American employees and their families in the US and in the Caribbean;
• support American and foreign aid organizations who are or will be working on the ground in Haiti, and about
• anything else they might be doing to help.

We have heard back from so many people with wonderful stories of support and care for Haitians, Haitian Americans and other concerned people, and have posted them on our website. We know from having gathered information in past times of national or international emergency that these stories serve as an important resource for hundreds of individuals and organizations trying to figure out their own strategies, and we are grateful to be able to share them with the public, the media and the work-life community.

Some of the moving, generous and very personal stories we have heard concern hospitals and health systems sending doctors, nurses and medical personnel, along with truck and boat loads of medical supplies. Yale New Haven Hospital packed up one truck load of supplies and shipped it to an airfield last week. The Hospital also organized a way for their employees to donate through a joint engagement with the local NAACP and the Community Foundation of Greater New Haven, as the secretary of the NAACP locally is one of the Hospital’s managers and is Haitian. The Hospital is also working with the clinical departments and the Yale School of Medicine to identify clinicians who will go to Haiti to provide services. A donor paid for a plane to take medical personnel from Mt. Sinai Hospital in NY this week. I know this because my son’s orthopedist, whom we saw this week post-surgery, was leaving to serve in Haiti the next day.

WNYC in New York broadcast an interview with Annie Nocenti, teacher at the Cine Institute, a film school for Haitian youth in the City of Jacmel. She spoke about the effect of the earthquake on the Cine students and the ways in which they are documenting the aftermath. To listen to Brian Lehrer’s interview with Annie, please click here.
To view the student videos, please click this link.

National Council for Research On Women (NCRW) and the Ms. Foundation for Women both suggested charities that will bring a gender-lens to the humanitarian response to the earthquake and attend to the needs of women, particularly pregnant women, infants and children, including:
• Partners in Health
• The Global Fund for Women
• Lambi Fund of Haiti
• UNIFEM (United Nations Development Fund for Women)
• CARE
• Madre

NCRW states that, according to Doctors without Borders, “Haiti has the grim distinction of having the highest maternal mortality rate in the western hemisphere.”

American Institute of Architects encouraged their membership (from their shared experiences following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the tsunami in Southeast Asia) to do what they could either as a volunteers preparing shipments of supplies or as generous contributors to organizations best able to provide the immediate assistance Haitians need in the aftermath of destruction. They have been in contact with colleagues at the US Green Building Council about sending a joint letter to United Nations Envoy to Haiti, former President Bill Clinton, offering their profession’s technical and professional expertise when the initiative begins focusing on rebuilding. They have also discussed ideas with Architecture for Humanity on how architects can provide on-the-ground design guidance in Haiti so local citizens can seek qualified counsel as they rebuild their homes, businesses and lives.

Ceridian and LifeCare are offering their customers free access to their telephonic counseling and bereavement support through special toll-free phone number, EAP services, guides and comprehensive online resource centers. This means that U.S. employees who may have family members or friends in Haiti have access to qualified and compassionate EAP and work-life consultants. Ceridian has translated materials on helping employees deal with stress, anxiety or grief into Haitian Creole.

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) recently selected Sittercity’s Corporate Program to help military families find in-home care (babysitters, nannies, eldercare providers, etc.) thereby supporting the families of service members that are deployed to help in the effort in Haiti. The DoD funded program provides all Army, Marine, Navy and Air Force families (including active duty, reserve and guard) with a paid membership to Sittercity through a custom built military portal where military families can access caregiver profiles (background checks, pictures, references, reviews).

Cardinal Health, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, Baxter and Pfizer have all committed large sums of money towards initial humanitarian aid in response to the earthquake in Haiti and critical pharmaceutical and nutritional products to strengthen the ability of humanitarian aid organizations to respond to immediate health needs in Haiti.

The Children’s Museum of Manhattan is collaborating with colleagues at the Louisiana Children’s Museum about adapting their recovery project “Play Helps” for Haiti for the future, after rescue and clean up is well under way. CMOM adapted their learnings after 9/11 to a relief project in New Orleans after Katrina. It involves bringing creative play, primarily through the arts, to children and families who have suffered through a tragedy.

Housing Works, in collaboration with the Haiti-based AIDS organization PHAP+, is establishing a safe refuge in the town of St.-Marc, which is north of Port-au-Prince and outside of the earthquake zone. The refuge is specifically for Haitians living with HIV/AIDS. (In times of catastrophe, marginalized populations are often the last to get help.) The refuge will be used as a staging area to deliver supplies to PWA-led groups and provide medical care to people. They will also be establishing a tent city for displaced persons. Housing Works close relationship with the AIDS organization Fondation Esther B Stanislas, which is located in St.-Marc, should help them deliver relief effectively. Housing Works President and CEO Charles King left for Haiti with $30,000 worth of HIV medications and other supplies. A press release about Housing Works efforts can be found here. Charles King is also posting about his experience on their blog whenever he can. You can read his first post here.

JCB, a worldwide manufacturer of construction equipment in Savannah, Georgia, has donated backhoes to the rescue work.

There is an active credit union movement in Haiti made up of 175 credit unions serving more than 400,000 members. Credit Union National Association made its contribution on behalf of the American credit union movement to assist the Haitian movement to in turn help its members and its country endure this catastrophe.

Viacom announced that MTV and BET teamed up with George Clooney to present an on-air telethon on Friday, January 22nd to rally support and raise money for the relief efforts in Haiti.

Many in the WellStar Health System family have been affected by the tragic earthquake that struck Haiti. To support WellStar team members and the citizens of Haiti, they have activated an Emergency Response Team to provide:
• Grief counseling (provided by WellStar Behavioral Health)
• Pastoral Care services
• Coordination with relief agencies, including opportunities for individuals to volunteer in relief efforts and/or make monetary donations.

There are many other examples of contributions of all kinds. Please continue to send us information on what you and others you know are doing to assist those suffering in Haiti and encourage others to send aid. We are most grateful for your input. And again, please refer to the resources we have posted here.