News Release

Emergency Initiative for Disaster Relief

September 29, 1999

This is a time-limited opportunity. The competition deadline is October 12, 1999 at 5 p.m., and awards will be announced on October 15, 1999. The review will be made by a joint faculty-community representative committee of the Institute on Aging.

The University of North Carolina Institute on Aging invites brief proposals to support three collaborative efforts linking a North Carolina community agency or agencies with a North Carolina academic institution or institutions in an effort to ameliorate the suffering and disruption experienced by North Carolina seniors in the recent hurricanes. The purpose of the competition is to provide targeted disaster relief in a framework that will assist the Institute on Aging to assess the factors in situations of natural disaster that specifically imperil the lives or well-being of seniors. It is the intention of the Institute on Aging to contribute positively to disaster preparedness in such situations.

Nature of the Initiative to be Supported:
The initiative should be directed to providing, or enhancing, a relief service to victims of flooding or other hurricane effects. Attention may focus on physical, social or emotional support efforts to storm victims or on capacity building of community organizations providing direct relief at this time to older storm victims in North Carolina. The component of service from the academic institution should include
faculty, staff and/or student direct service hours.

Conditions of the Awards:
Three awards of $5,000 will be made on a competitive basis. The award may be used for a variety of costs including supplies, services, travel or human resources, but such expenditures must contribute substantially to enhance direct service provision to
seniors and/or to strengthen the capacity of community-based organizations to assist seniors in the current disaster situation. Accounting of the fund usage must be provided in a final report. Funds are to be expended by April 15, 2000 and a final report is to be submitted by May 15, 2000 (see below). In view of the
current emergency, the total amount of the awards will be distributed as soon as feasible immediately following the awards decision.

As a condition of the award, the co-sponsors of the project shall provide to the Institute on Aging, by May 15, 2000, a report of about 10-15 pages, describing the nature of the project, the specific relief issues that were addressed, the nature and impact of the academic/community partnership, and an assessment
of "lessons learned" that might assist social agencies, or policy makers, to better meet the needs of North Carolina seniors affected by similar events in the future. This report should also identify, where feasible, any research or policy needs that would assist in service planning and policy development. Award
recipients must also agree to participate in a poster presentation or symposium organized by the Institute.

Background and Rationale for the Competition:
The University of North Carolina Institute on Aging has as its mandate to enhance the well-being of older North Carolinians through statewide collaboration in research, education and service. The current hurricane and related flooding disaster has had a
devastating effect on many of our citizens. There is little sound knowledge of the special effects of such disasters on older people but limited evidence and common sense suggests that older people may be highly vulnerable in such situations. In addition to
personal loss and bereavement, and financial loss, prior studies document increased stress, anxiety and depression, and some health problems among elderly flood survivors. Very old survivors receive less social support in the adaptation and resettling process. Age, gender, income status and social support networks
influence the extent of post-disaster distress. The studies also confirm the need for additional, research-based information of direct policy and practice relevance.

This competition is intended first to make a contribution to alleviating the needs of older adults in situations of natural disasters through academic-community partnerships, linking service with education and research. An additional condition of the award requires that a report be submitted. In this way, the Institute will
have three case studies to provide a preliminary knowledge base and, perhaps, to suggest research directions that will assist in future planning efforts to reduce the negative effects of hurricanes or similar natural disasters on seniors. These will be used by the
Institute in an initiative it will take (involving academic institutions, governmental agencies, and service organizations) to enhance preparedness for future disasters.

Applicant Eligibility:
Any public or private post-secondary academic institution and any non-profit community- or region-based agency is eligible to apply for this award. Individuals from academic institutions must be faculty or senior-level administrative officials. Agency
representatives must be at the senior administrative level.

Application Process:
The application should be about two (2), but not more than four (4) pages, and be co-sponsored by at least one academic institution and one community-based service agency, each represented by a co-director of the project. One co-director (from either a community
or an academic institution) should be designated the person responsible to receive and manage the funds (principal investigator). The application should: (1) name the partner organizations; (2) describe the ongoing service initiative or, alternatively, the new service initiative to be developed with the assistance of the award; (3) clearly state the way in which this
initiative will make a difference to improved capacity to assist older victims in the current disaster situation; (4) describe the target population to be served; (5) describe the role of student and/or other personnel from the academic institution in the service delivery; and (6) describe in one paragraph what expenditures
the award funds will cover. The application should be co-signed by the coordinators and/or signed letters of support should be provided by both partners. Fax signatures are acceptable.

Applications may be sent in hard copy, by fax, or by email to the University of North Carolina Institute on Aging, 720 Airport Road, Campus Box 1030, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-1030. Fax (919) 966-0510. E-mail IOA@UNC.EDU. For further information contact the
Institute by telephone at (919) 966-9444 (Diane Wurzinger).