WHO WE ARE
Center Expands its Services in Financial, Housing Counseling to Residents Affected by Hurricane Katrina
Gulfport, MS — August 6, 2007 — The Gulf Coast Community Service Center (GCCSC) has been awarded two new grants to expand its case management services, IRD US announced today. The Salvation Army has awarded the Center more than $10,000 in order to build organizational capacity for assisting Gulf Coast residents, and the Enterprise Corporation of the Delta (ECD) has awarded the Center a subcontract to provide specific financial counseling and case management.
“We are delighted that both these organizations have decided to invest in the future of the GCCSC and really, the future of the Gulf Coast,” said Program Director Lori West. “IRD US has been on the ground here since a week following Hurricane Katrina, and with the generosity of groups like the Salvation Army and ECD, we plan to be here to assist in the long-term recovery, too.”
The ECD contract will help to provide financial counseling to Hurricane Katrina victims outside of the flood zone, while also leveraging the Center’s case management capabilities to help victims in underserved areas maximize access to available resources and affordable housing. The Salvation Army grant covers portions of fixed and operating expenses, allowing the Center to serve more Gulf Coast residents. Since November 2005, the Center has served nearly 700 households.
“While many disaster victims are provided for in the short-term, thanks in part to money from relief agencies, many bankruptcies happen in the two to three years following,” noted West. “The housing shortage on the Mississippi Gulf Coast is also an ongoing problem. So there’s more work to be done, particularly in financial and housing counseling, and we’re looking forward to rolling up our sleeves.”
IRD US responded to the emergency needs in Mississippi in early September 2005, just days after the hurricane struck. By November 2005, IRD US had set up the GCCSC in Gulfport and begun case management services. Since that time, thousands of people have been helped by the GCCSC and its staff.
IRD US was founded as a charitable, non-profit, non-governmental organization dedicated to reducing the suffering of the United States’ most vulnerable groups and providing tools and resources needed to increase their self-sufficiency.
# # #
