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In Keeping with Casey's Mission, Hurricane Relief Focuses on Children and Families Left Behind

When Hurricane Katrina slammed into the Gulf Coast on August 29, the effects were staggering for the region’s entire population, but children and families already struggling with the challenges of poverty had no safety net to buffer the utter devastation.

The indelible images of families having no way out, no where to go, and no safe haven from the storm have made it impossible to ignore the role of persistent poverty in the way this tragedy unfolded. But the inescapable conclusions evoked by these images also offer an unprecedented moment for the philanthropic community not only to respond to the immediate tragedy but to help refocus the debate on poverty in the United States and build public will for far-reaching change.

"Our nation simply cannot tolerate or re-create communities in which so many people are so defenseless," notes Nelson.

The disaster spurred the Foundation to not only offer assistance with immediate relief and recovery efforts, but to respond in ways that further its long-term mission to strengthen and support families in communities of concentrated poverty.

"In the days and weeks ahead, we need to insist on a disciplined, mission-driven response to this disaster and explore how to distill and translate Katrina’s lessons into better and more effective systems of response, especially to meet the challenges facing vulnerable populations: low-income families, children in care, the elderly and frail," says Ralph Smith, the Foundation’s senior vice president.

Since immediately after Hurricane Katrina struck, the Casey Foundation and its entire network—grant making and direct services staff, Casey grantees, partners, fellows, and honorees—have been responding on many different levels to help address the immediate needs of the Gulf Region and the hurricane victims as well as to seize what may be a fleeting opportunity to frame long-term responses to the broader social and economic issues surfaced by this catastrophe.

As a Foundation, we are focusing most intensively on aspects of relief and recovery where the potential is greatest for us to make a meaningful difference given our mission, knowledge, experience, and expertise.