Media Room

University of Michigan School of Public Health disaster relief resources after earthquake in Haiti

Nearly a month after the devastating earthquake in Haiti, recovery efforts remain slow and many survivors desperate for basic needs. Members of the university community, from alumni to students to Survival Flight pilots, have been working in Haiti and at home to help...

Read more about efforts of UM SPH faculty and others on campus in the story by SPH's Laura Bailey in the Feb. 2010 Michigan Today, UM's alumni magazine.

At UM:

A campus-wide coordinating group has been formed to coordinate activities across groups. Stay informed via their blog. Read more about the student-led effort.

At the UM School of Public Health:

Several activities underway to help with the Haiti disaster relief effort.

SPHers asked to support the SPH Haiti Disaster Relief Daily Dollar Drive: More than half of Haiti's population lives on less than $1 a day and 78% on less than $2 a day (The World Bank, 2010). Students, faculty, and staff of UM SPH are asked to donate towards Haiti earthquake relief efforts. Please join the Public Health Students of African Descent & the Public Health Student Assembly in raising funds to be directed to disaster relief efforts in Haiti. Followup: In early March, PHSAD announced that UM SPH had raised $1201 to be donated to Partners in Health.

Hand sanitizer donations for Haiti have already come from Allision Aiello, the John G. Searle Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at UM SPH.

"Coping with Disasters" Course

The Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness, housed at UM SPH, has a free course online called “Coping with Disasters.” The free course could assist first responders and those working on Haiti disaster recovery and relief, said JoLynn Montgomery, research investigator at SPH and director of the Michigan Center for Public Health Preparedness.

Go to www.mipreparedness.org and access the course using the quick link on the right side of the page under "Earthquake in Haiti." For those who do not have high-speed internet, a CD ROM is available upon request. Course instructor Dr. Craig Katz has served as the director/psychiatrist of the World Trade Center Worker/Volunteer Mental Health Monitoring and Treatment Program, which meets the mental health needs of people who worked or volunteered at Ground Zero after 9/11.

"Let's Do It for Haiti" Group

photo of Armando SPH students and others at UM formed a group that met Jan. 14 to discuss ways to help the Haiti disaster effort. Dr. Armando Matiz Reyes (left) of the SPH department of Health Behavior and Health Education called the meeting as part of his work with the Field Experience Office, because he has many contacts in Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Students from across the university, as well as various staff, attended and formed committees to move forward. Let's Do It for Haiti! Food & Clothing Donations.

Article on UM Candlelight Vigil

SPH's Dr. Armando Matiz Reyes's remarks at the vigil:

"We are united here tonight for two main reasons. One is the pain and anguish the citizens of Haiti have, and second is because each and everyone of you has good intentions and good thoughts. This is saying that you can be part of the change. The change can be achieved by creating synergy in compassion, equity and solidarity. The compassion comes from emotional intelligence, equity comes from rational intelligence, and solidarity is something that is learned and is a mix of the two before.

"Each of us can decide how to participate in this change. It is therefore vital to understand that this is a catastrophe and a crisis--and to understand the different stages through which are passed. There are short-term, medium-term, and long-term actions, and in each of these moments we can cooperate in different ways. To provide more clarity, and so that you can be part of the change, I invite you to revise Haiti’s history: over 50 years of constant struggle and suffering.

"This is a night with snow and cold. B-ut when lit, these candles can create a warm night because they are part of change. May the light that we ignite this evening be the light that Haiti begins to see in the midst of its darkness."

"Let's Do it For Haiti!"

Español:

Estamos reunidos esta noche en este lugar por dos razones principalmente: Una es el dolor y la angustia que tienen las personas en Haití y segundo porqué en cada uno de ustedes existen buenos sentimientos y buenos pensamientos. Lo que quiere decir que pueden ser parte del cambio .

El cambio se puede lograr participando creando sinergía entre la compasión, las acciones y la solidaridad. La compasión viene de la inteligencia emocional, la acción viene de la inteligencia racional y la solidaridad es algo que se aprende y es una mezcla de las dos anteriores. Cada uno de nosotros puede decidir como participar en este cambio, para ello es vital entender que representa una catástrofe y una crisis y cuales son las diferentes etapas por las que se pasa.

Hay acciones de carácter inmediato, acciones a mediano plazo y acciones a largo plazo, en cada uno de estos tiempos podemos cooperar en distintas maneras. Para tener mas claridad y formar parte del cambio los invito a revisar la historia de Haití. Mas de 50 años de permanente lucha y sufrimiento.

Esta es una noche con nieve y fría pero cuando ustedes enciendan sus velas puede ser una noche tibia porque están formando parte del cambio. QUE LA LUZ QUE ESTA NOCHE ENCENDEMOS, SEA LA LUZ QUE HAITI EMPIEZE A VER EN MEDIO DE SU OSCURIDAD.

UM experts available to news media to comment on Haiti disaster and aftermath.
In memoriam: Haiti victim with UM ties.

UM SPH contacts for more information:

Laura Bailey (734) 764-1552 or (734) 647-1848, baileylm@umich.edu
Terri Mellow (734) 764-8094, twm@umich.edu

University of Michigan response

Portal en Español de la Universidad de Michigan: Haití

UM Health System info

UM Haiti Relief blog

CDC and Red Cross info on the Haiti earthquake.

To the SPH Community from Dean Warner:

"In the wake of the devastating earthquake in Haiti, the public health community is working in multiple ways to help alleviate the terrible burden this disaster has inflicted on the people of Haiti. We will strive to keep you informed about what UM SPH faculty, staff, and students are doing and encourage you to read about our efforts on this webpage. We are grateful to all of you who are doing so much to address the terrible suffering in Haiti."

To the Campus Community from President Coleman:

"The scale of devastation and heartache wrought by the earthquake in Haiti is almost too tragic to comprehend. And while we may feel helpless, there are, in fact, many ways for the Michigan community to make a difference in the lives of Haitians. No gesture is too small, and I encourage you to support a charitable organization that is responding to this disaster. Thank you."

rubble of building
Images of Haiti show massive destruction

child
Haiti photos courtesy of UM community.

Travel Recommendations

Jan. 28: UM officials say now is not the time for students to travel to Haiti; they are encouraged instead to volunteer with area aid groups, and to contribute to organizations already in place.

School of Nursing in Haiti

Rosemarie Rowney, president of the Haiti Nursing Foundation and a graduate and emeritus of the UM School of Public Health and School of Nursing, said the Faculty of Nursing Science of the Episcopal University of Haiti survived the earthquake, as did Dean Hilda Alcindor. "The courtyard of the campus was being used to provide first aid assistance to the people," Rowney said in an email. More from Rosemarie Rowney on health care challenges in Haiti.