Catholic Charities Providing Relief and Support to Fire Victims in Southern California

ALEXANDRIA, Va., Oct. 24 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — As the fires continue to rage in Southern California, local Catholic Charities in the impacted areas are working with their Catholic and disaster response partners to provide relief.

In San Diego, Catholic Charities is providing hot meals, staffing, and technical resources to those sheltering at Qualcomm Stadium–now San Diego County’s largest emergency evacuation center where about 12,000 people spent Tuesday night. (View photos of Catholic Charities staff helping out at QualComm Stadium at http://www.cc-sd.org/firerelief07/web%20photos/index.htm)

Additionally, the agency has organized diocesan priests to provide spiritual and emotional care at the stadium. In the coming days, Catholic Charities of San Diego and its partners will help victims coordinate their transitional housing needs and with completing FEMA and other aid applications.

Based on agreements with their local Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) partners, Catholic Charities of San Bernardino/Riverside continues to assess current conditions and possible solutions. The agency anticipates that its initial efforts will focus on providing case management and helping clients access resources, such as FEMA assistance.

Catholic Charities USA is collecting donations to support local agencies’ recovery efforts.

To contribute:
Call (800) 919-9338

Visit http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org

Send checks to:
Catholic Charities USA
Southern California Wildfires
PO Box 7068, Merrifield, VA 22116-7068

Catholic Charities USA is unable to accept contributions of food,clothing, blankets and other relief supplies. Its federal ID number is 53-0196620.