National Disaster Ministry Conference to Address Economic Justice in Disasters, March 29-April 1, 2008, Scarritt-Bennett Center

NASHVILLE--Jan. 31, 2008--Complex issues like global warming, battered local economies, predatory lending practices, and changing immigration laws are worsening the impact of disasters in the U.S. on the nation's most vulnerable people. A national conference of disaster recovery experts, scheduled for Nashville this March, will tackle those issues, at the national Domestic Disaster Ministry Forum presented by humanitarian agency Church World Service.

This year's "Economics and Justice in Disasters" Conference, March 29-April 1, at the Scarritt-Bennett Center in Nashville, Tenn., will feature speakers from academia, government agencies, and faith-based disaster-response groups. Participants are expected to include leaders from national faith groups and denominations with programs and ministries dedicated to the increasing and specialized work of disaster ministry, as well as representatives from FEMA, the American Red Cross, and VOAD groups (Voluntary Organizations Active In

Disasters).Conference presentation and audience participation topics include:
- Green rebuilding
- Global warming and disaster vulnerability
- The impact of changing immigration laws on disaster response
- Hidden rules of class and race
- Curbing predatory lending practices following disasters
- Engaging special populations for more effective recovery
- Partnering with community-based development corporations
- What's right and wrong with federal assistance
- Disaster as an opportunity to improve housing stock
- Professionalizing and privatizing disaster recovery-the impact on local capacity
- Worker justice in disasters-and the status of unpaid volunteers

"These issues are exceedingly complex," says Church World Service Associate Director for Capacity Building Bob Arnold. "We want those in the disaster-response arena to come away from this forum with greater insight on how to be sensitive to economic and justice issues as their agencies help communities recover."

"The people who are most frequently forgotten by society--the poor, the disenfranchised--face steep challenges even in everyday life," CWS Associate Director for Domestic Response Bonnie Vollmering said. "But a disaster like a flood or a tornado makes the problems of poverty and injustice even worse, creating barriers to recovery for a whole community."

For more than 60 years, Church World Service has provided emergency relief, sustainable development, refugee protection, and human rights advocacy globally and within the U.S. Beyond basic disaster relief, CWS focuses on disaster preparedness and mitigation, long-term recovery, and building resiliency within vulnerable communities. Church World Service, http://www.churchworldservice.org/, is supported by public donations, grants, and by 35 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches and communions in the United States.

A Domestic Disaster Ministry Forum registration form and information may be downloaded from www.cwserp.org/reports. (Follow the links for 2008 Forum Brochure and 2008 Forum Registration Form.)

Contacts:
Lesley Crosson/Church World Service, 212-870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin, (24/7), 781-925-1526, jdragin@gis.net