The American Red Cross is teaming with African American religious and civic groups to train volunteers who will be ready to help when future disasters occur. The Red Cross has sent trainers to work with groups from the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Progressive National Baptist Convention and the NAACP.

National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster helps voluntary organizations work together to train and plan for disaster response. NVOAD, based in Alexandria, Virginia, also helps build connections between the voluntary groups and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Brenda Muñiz is author of the report “In the Eye of the Storm: How the Government and Private Response to Hurricane Katrina Failed Latinos,” completed for the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), a national Hispanic civil rights and advocacy group based in Washington, D.C. It was issued in February 2006.

America’s Second Harvest is a network of more than 200 food banks and food-rescue groups coordinated by Craig Nemitz. By the end of November 2005, America’s Second Harvest, based in Chicago, had sent more than 1,900 truckloads carrying close to 59 million pounds of food to survivors of Katrina and Rita.

The Economic Research Service offers state profiles that include income and poverty rates for rural and urban dwellers.

Read a report called “Understanding Katrina: Perspectives from the Social Sciences,” posted on the website of the Social Science Research Council. It examines issues of race and racism revealed by Katrina, and contains the links to writings on the hurricane by more than 35 academics.

Read a June 2, 2006, National Public Radio article about a surge in immigrant day workers helping with the demolition and rebuilding work in New Orleans. These immigrants – undocumented or contract workers – often lack decent housing and food.

Read the transcript of an April 19, 2006, Online NewsHour show from PBS about how New Orleans’ pastors were preaching Easter sermons about resurrection and new life. The program also describes the financial difficulties of many parishes in the area, the pain it causes when a congregation closes, and how the decision of a parish to hold on and […]

Michael Weil heads the Jewish Federation of Greater New Orleans. The federation is working to revitalize the local Jewish community in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, which cut the city’s Jewish population by one-third.