Charity After Sept. 11: Who Gets Help?

Re “Flood of Sept. 11 Aid Swamps Charities,” Dec. 8: OK, let me get this straight. The surviving families of the firefighters killed during the Sept. 11 attacks will receive $200,000 each from one fund. The surviving families of firefighters and police officers will receive an average $120,000 each from another fund, perhaps $100,000 each from yet another fund and $38,000 each from the Red Cross. On top of this, they will receive $250,000 each under a Justice Department program?

The whole meaning of donating to charitable organizations is to provide for those in need--not to make millionaires of certain victims’ family members.

Duane Oden

Los Angeles

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Re the difficulty of getting charitable donations into the hands of victims, it was exactly for this reason that a group of us in the South Bay recently completed our own effort. We were able give $7,500 directly to one family, bypassing large charitable organizations and their administrative difficulties. And we believe that others can do the same thing, so we chronicled our efforts at https://www.911helpamerica.com to act as a resource for others who want to make a difference. Giving to the big charities is not the only way we can help.

James R. Evans

Torrance

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On Dec. 8 there was a list of the 10 top charities that have had millions of dollars contributed for the victims of Sept. 11, and most of the money has yet to be spent. Then, in the Voices section, Jay Levin mentioned the serious poverty problems that are affecting thousands of homeless people in our city.

Because of soaring rents, people are having to choose between eating and having a roof over their heads; landlords are closing off the subsidies that allowed the poor to have a place to live; and by 2003 most of the women who were on welfare will not be eligible for help. Meanwhile, President Bush has cut off large amounts of money that were supposed to go for job training and housing.

Do people have to become victims of a bombing to get help? The victims in New York are not only getting money from insurance companies but from all of the charities. I very much sympathize with all of the victims of the bombings, but I am also concerned about what is going to happen to the homeless, especially the children, if the government does not provide some help to them.

Daria Case

Sherman Oaks