Local Shope has long range scope on disaster

   As I write, Katrina victims are in the Rescue phase. “The first four days is just finding bodies,” said Hal Shope, Liaison Coordinator of Volunteer Development for Lutheran Disaster Response. 

   As you read, Katrina victims are in the Relief phase, four months of tending to basic needs, cleaning up debris, and dealing with the avalanche of paperwork from insurance companies.

   Shope, a Lilburn resident, said the final phase, Recovery, is the longest and often the hardest. Four years is average, but Shope said LDR teams stayed in Oklahoma City for 10 years after the bombing and will most likely serve 9-11 survivors longer than that.

   “The government gives big money up front, but it doesn’t trickle down. That’s where churches and synagogues pull through and assist with what’s fallen through the cracks. I find volunteers with the heart to help and tie them in with people in need.”

   I was on the phone with Shope as I wrote this. “I’m in Mississippi now,” he said. “I got 100 calls yesterday from people wanting to help. We have canned ham and tuna going to the coast as we speak.” 

   “It’s amazing what people will do,” said his wife, Marianne Zotti. “Businesses donate materials, service groups come out to clean. A youth group donated money they’d saved for a trip to Six Flags.”

   Zotti supports disaster relief from personal experience. In 1997 she lost her home and husband, Mike, to a tornado.

   “People were helpful in many ways, but it was the spiritual nurturing that pulled me through.”

   “We’re weak in emotional and spiritual support,” said Shope. “We wait too long for pastors to meet people’s needs. We must treat people on the spot AND provide for continual care, like the Good Samaritan did.”

   One good example is Camp Noah, where children affected by natural disaster discuss their faith and participate in art therapy as a bridge to a new life.

   Zotti has written a book, All Things New, to chronicle her disaster and give hope to others. Inspired by Camp Noah, she’s developed an “All Things New” Bible Study and art workshop for adults. Her pilot class begins Tuesday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m. Zotti’s dream is to provide ongoing spiritual support she knows people need after a disaster. Shope’s dream is to develop metro-wide disaster teams of all faiths willing to “whatever” on the spot. To help heal your own post-disaster pain or help others deal with their pain as it happens, call Shope/Zotti at 678-580-3371. Or, to be a Good Samaritan “whenever,” relief workers can always use cash. ( www.elca.org/disaster   )

   “The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’” Luke 10:35 NIV


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