Katrina Aid Today

Katrina Aid Today, a national case management consortium, is a program dedicated to restoring lives and rebuilding families. The program provides long term recovery support to survivors of Hurricane Katrina. United Methodist Committee on Relief, UMCOR, the humanitarian relief and development agency of the United Methodist Church, manages the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Emergency Management Agency, FEMA sponsored program. Nine national partners and sixteen grassroots organizations—experts in availability of benefits, resources and services—deliver assistance to 300,000 of the most vulnerable survivors in communities across America.

Consortium agencies are working from offices in 31 states utilizing case managers to assist people that have been affected by the storm. In addition to the $66 million grant funds from FEMA, donated by foreign governments, consortium members have also committed an estimated $35 million ($5 million from UMCOR) including in-kind contributions totaling $101 million for long term recovery.

The program assists survivors by the creation of recovery plans, identification of unmet needs, and facilitating access to necessary resources. Case management through this program is facilitated nationally through the use of standardized forms and direct data entry into CAN: Coordinated Assistance Network – a web-based database developed by the American Red Cross.