As are you, we are watching the weather channel and offering our prayers for a safe passage through the storm for the Church of the South.  As you meet with young people throughout this weekend, please include those impacted by Ike in your thoughts and prayers.

NCEA has established a “Catholic Education Storm Central,” a web forum designed to facilitate direct communication between schools and individuals affected by disasters. See here. 

If you become aware of other links that would be helpful to those youth ministry folks on the ground in the wake of Ike, please post a comment and share them!

Here’s some links offering assistance:

>  www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/managinganxiety/tips.asp#children 
>  www.redcross.org/disaster/masters/aftermath/ 
>  www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/cmhs/EmergencyServices/after.asp 
>  www.bt.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/#general

en espanol:

> ayudando_a_los_ninos_despues_de_una_catastrofe (Helping Children after a Disaster)
> www.listo.gov/ninos/home.html  Emergency Preparedness Information
>  www.fema.gov/kids/twins/juliandrobspanish.pdf The kids book – disaster twins
>  www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/publications/allpubs/KEN-01-0099/ (How to help the children to face fear and anxiety)
>  www.redcross.org/services/disaster/foreignmat/1303sp.pdf (Helping Young Children Cope with Trauma)

Taking to Children / Teens about Disasters:

>  Helping Children Handle Disaster-Related Anxiety This article from the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) offers quick tips to help parents comfort and reassure children with disaster-related anxiety.
>  NASP Handout for Helping Children Cope with Disaster – This handout is designed to help parents and children during a disaster.

Saint Mary’s Press Resources

>  A prayer for In Times of Crisis (Article 504)
>  Prayer Service for Families Coping with a Natural Disaster (Article 506)
>  A Listening Session for Teens to voice their feelings, thoughts, and concerns regarding a natural disaster or tragedy.

Finally, a reminder:  After being hit by a series of storms, poverty-stricken Haiti is suffering. Hundreds of Haitians have died and more than 1 million have been affected by Hurricanes Fay, Gustav, Hanna and Ike. In a Sept. 5 letter, Haitian Bishop Yves-Marie Pean of Les Gonaives said he and his staff were accommodating 500 people at the bishop’s residence. That was before Hurricane Ike drenched the country Sept. 7. The following aid agencies are sending out appeals for donations to assist recovery in Latin America, the Caribbean and the United States: Catholic Relief Services, Cat holic Charities USA,  Development and Peace, Food for the Poor, Catholic Medical Mission Board and Health Partners International of Canada.