Human Services News

Urban Institute:

Nonprofit organizations are a crucial link in our nation's emergency preparedness and disaster response efforts, but their role is not always well integrated into disaster planning.

After both Hurricane Katrina and 9/11, nonprofits provided immediate and longer-term assistance to help people cope with devastating life changes and the emotional aftermath, but the importance of long-term services is not well understood or even acknowledged by victims and policymakers alike.

This brief highlights the lessons learned from the Urban Institutes's assessment of the American Red Cross September 11th Recovery Program, which provided grants to community-based organizations to provide longer-term case management, mental health services, and other services to facilitate recovery to eligible individuals.

A portion of the 9/11 funds was designated for a new program called the Recovery Grants Program (RGP) to help people directly affected by the events of 9/11 with their longer-term recovery needs.