“Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) enables congregations and mission partners of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) to witness to the healing love of Christ through caring for communities adversely affected by crisis and catastrophic events.” (PDA Mission Statement)
PDA has many ways to help those affected by disasters. From March 18 – 22, 2019, this group of PDA volunteers were in Beaumont & Houston at the invitation of UMCOR (United Methodist Committee on Relief) presenting “Resilience & Renewal” programs to their case workers and supervisors for long term recovery. The case workers and supervisors hear the stories of the Hurricane Harvey disaster and the need for help over and over again. The case workers then become secondary victims of the disaster. The “Resilience & Renewal” programs highlight the stresses they face and the ways to counteract the stresses in their lives.
The programs are always a great success and are well attended. In addition, the programs can be very emotional for the participants and tissues are made available at the table…
This event also had the greatest diversity, which was appreciated – diversity in racial ethnicity, in religious beliefs from ultra-conservative to progressive, Christian and Muslim, age, work experience, educational background and multi-national background.
PDA has requests from many agencies involved in disaster response including; FEMA, Americorp, UMCOR, VOAD, and many others throughout the United States and its Territories. I will be presenting in Victoria & Houston again April 14 – 20.
Pictured: PDA Volunteers from New Jersey, West Virginia, McKinney, TX, Houston, TX, & California, also our host from UMCOR from Houston, TX
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