By Tamar Fenton

Twelve years ago, Steve Lear, a local financial planner, loaded his car with cleaning supplies, rubber boots, and gloves and drove from the Twin Cities to Des Moines , Iowa to help a Jewish acquaintance clean up his factory after it was severely damaged in a flood. From that good-will gesture came the idea to create Nechama: Jewish Response to Disaster, an organization that responds to the floods and tornadoes that cause damage and disrupt lives in the Midwest each year. It is the only voluntary organization of its kind operating under Jewish auspices anywhere in the United States .

Nechama (which means “comfort” in Hebrew) has grown from a few members of the local Jewish community willing to help when needed to the Midwest 's premier disaster clean-up organization. In fact, the Salvation Army and the Red Cross call upon Nechama to coordinate most regional disaster clean-up operations. They use Nechama to manage and train the inexperienced volunteers who show up wanting to help. With a database of 950 Jewish and non-Jewish volunteers and a fleet of trucks and trailers filled with industrial strength clean-up equipment, Nechama has conducted 38 natural disaster clean-up operations in Minnesota , the Eastern Dakotas, Iowa , and Wisconsin .

When Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast three weeks ago, the American Refugee Committee asked Nechama to be part of the advance team to assess the clean-up needs in the area. The advance team's goals were to determine the most pressing needs in the region and develop a strategy to get those needs met. According to Perry Witkin, president of Nechama, the American Refugee Committee specifically called upon Nechama to be part of their leadership force because of its experience in developing the critical relationships with local communities and its ability to move quickly to implement disaster response strategies.

Witkin learned from the Departments of Health and Emergency Services in Baton Rouge , Louisiana - the central disaster coordinating area for the Gulf Coast - that the most pressing need in the area was to find an organization to be responsible for management of the health clinics and shelters. He then worked with the Minnesota Lifeline Team - a group of health care professionals from the University of Minnesota , the Mayo Clinic, and St. Catherine's University - to help set up housing and clinic space for groups of 80 medical personnel to address medical needs.

A tent city called Camp Forrest was built as a staging ground for relief workers in Mississippi , and to house volunteers in the Lafayette Louisiana area, the Heyman Performing Arts Center was quickly transformed into a dormitory. Witkin solicited cooperation from Jewish leaders from the Federation and Temple Israel , both in Baton Rouge , and the Henry S. Jacobs Camp to secure additional sleeping and office space, as well as needed equipment. The camp became the command center for all Minnesota disaster response operations. With the threat of Hurricane Rita, Ken Stteiff, Nechama Deployment Manager was instrumental in preparing for the evacuation of all 80 members of the Minnesota Lifeline Team to Jacobs Camp to wait out the storm and prepare for necessary lifesaving interventions. Jacobs Camp had already served as a way-station for 500 evacuees from New Orleans and other areas in the first days after Katrina, most of whom had by then been relocated. By the time the volunteers arrived, there were still approximately fifty Jews staying at the camp.

Bill Fiest, Salvation Army Director of Disaster Services for Alabama , Mississippi , and Louisiana asked Witkin to join him in evaluating needs and developing action plans in Biloxi , Waveland, Pascagoula , and Gulfport , Mississippi . As the former Director of Disaster Response for the State of Minnesota , Fiest had worked with Nechama many times in the past and welcomed their assistance in the Gulf Coast .

After the preparations were completed, Nechama deployed key volunteers including Nechama board member Steven Rothberg, President and Founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, to pinpoint neighborhoods needing immediate assistance. Rothberg spent several days traveling with representatives of the Jackson Mississippi Jewish community, delivering supplies, food, and clothing donated by the Twin Cities' Jewish community, and allocating Nechama volunteers to areas of greatest need.

Soon after Rothberg's arrival, Nechama trucks and equipment rolled into Mississippi . After touring the coastal areas, Rothberg realized that there were adequate response teams already working in those areas. According to Rothberg, “Although the damage was not as great inland, the needs were just as immediate. Nechama could do much more for a community like Hattiesburg , Mississippi than for the people and communities on the coast who already were being assisted by FEMA, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army.” With the approval of the local authorities, Nechama has now been assigned volunteer training and clean-up responsibilities in several Hattiesburg neighborhoods.

The Salvation Army in the area is funneling all local volunteers to Nechama for training and assignments. Prior to Nechama's involvement, unaffiliated volunteers were generally unprepared, not inoculated appropriately, and did not have the necessary tools, resulting in able-bodied eager volunteers being turned away. According to Rothberg, “One of Nechama's greatest attributes is its ability to leverage the abundant supply of man-power by giving folks the tools and training they need so they can get right to work.” In Minnesota, Nechama is currently preparing volunteers to travel to Mississippi for one-week rotations to work with Nechama teams already in place.

Perry Witkin recounted that one of the major successes of his week in the Gulf Coast was his work on behalf of an Israeli team of disaster responders. When this team of 16 doctors, nurses, psychologists, underwater rescue workers, and logistical advisors, part of an organization known as Israel Flying Aide, arrived in the Gulf Coast , their credentials were questioned and precious time was wasted while they tried in vain to obtain the clearance they needed. Though they had lead major disaster response efforts in Darfur , Somalia , and Bosnia to name just a few locations, this bureaucratic glitch kept them from doing their critical work right away. Because Nechama had already established credibility in the region, Witkin was able to negotiate permission for this experienced team to begin working and managed to secure necessary equipment that they were not able to bring from Israel , including two ambulances, scuba gear, radios, and medical supplies.

According to Perry, “I could dwell on the horror, destruction and death, but my most enduring feeling is one of pride that the Jewish community responded in a very visible way to this tragedy. I am humbled by the fact that the Jewish communities of these battered areas welcomed us so warmly and offered their synagogues, their camp, and their offices, so that Nechama and non-Jewish organizations were able to set up their bases of operations quickly. It is great to know that the Jewish connections Nechama made there resulted in the members of Minnesota Lifeline medical team and the rescue workers from Israel being provided with housing and support. I am proud that so many Minnesota Jews are signing up to join Nechama on future trips to the area. Jews need to be a visible presence in disaster response and as the only Jewish organization engaged in this type of work, Nechama is doing our entire Jewish community proud.”

For more information about Nechama, to sign up for disaster response training, or to donate to the organization, please see the organization's website, www.nechama.org .