September 8, 2005 - Volunteers of America has served the most vulnerable people in New Orleans, Mobile and the Gulf Coast communities for over 100 years - the frail elderly; people with chronic mental illness or developmental disabilities; and individuals and families who were already homeless before the disaster and least prepared to recover.  They are our focus today in our immediate efforts, and will be our focus as we build toward long-term recovery in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina's destruction. 

Volunteers of America is tapping into its network of community services across the United States to relieve the overwhelmed services and beleaguered staff in the Gulf Coast region.  Charles W. Gould, president of Volunteers of America, reports that the organization's Veterans Mobile Service Center was deployed last week from Tampa, Florida to heavily impacted Biloxi, Mississippi.  Professionals and volunteers staff the 40-foot, self-contained medical and information center.  The unit is a resource for urgent medical care and is serving as a distribution point for basics such as food, water and personal hygiene kits. 

In addition, Volunteers of America is working in cities throughout the country to assess and identify accommodations for the displaced.  We have moved 70 developmentally disabled individuals, many of whom are medically fragile, to a church camp in Palestine, Texas.  Frontier Airlines has transported the first of what we expect will be 50 elderly individuals to affordable housing that Volunteers of America operates in Denver, Colorado. 

Many of the Volunteers of America programs in Katrina's path have been devastated.  Facilities that once provided a haven and support to thousands of homeless veterans, low-income seniors and families and to the physically and developmentally disabled are severely damaged and no longer available.

Volunteers of America is reaching out to the public for donations to help meet the basic needs of those displaced by Hurricane Katrina - especially the frail elderly, the disabled, and individuals and families who were already homeless before the disaster.  To make a tax-deductible contribution to Volunteers of America, go to the website http://www.voaba.org/ or call toll-free 1-800-899-0089.

Volunteers of America is a national, nonprofit, spiritually based organization providing local human service programs and opportunities for individual and community involvement.  It is one of the largest nonprofit providers of quality affordable housing and last year served nearly 2 million people in need.  Volunteers of America nurtures, supports and uplifts the human spirit - working with children and youth, the elderly, homeless individuals and families, and others to empower them in reaching their full potential.