It is clear that a manmade or natural disaster disrupts the ecology of an entire community, not just individuals. The BP Gulf Oil disaster has produced a lot of collateral damage that does not get much recognition. We know about jobs, tourism, fishing, and animals lost. Beyond those essential parts of a community, there are faith-based and non-profit organizations that depend on people to sustain them. In turn, those institutions give back when there is a crisis. The loss of such structures can be devastating. Isolation, alienation and despair can be worsened because there are no bootstraps left to reach for to get through the disruption of community life. Neither the federal government nor BP has adequately taken into account such group going down because of the BP oil spill. What is true for churches and general non-profits may be even more so for organizing groups. They, after all, are the groups we need to hold the company and the politicians accountable. One such group is Mobile Baykeeper. Organizations in the Gulf are determining what impact the oil spill has had on their short term situation but also the long term consequences for their revenue and their work.  Read more in this Associated Press story Churches, nonprofits fight for survival amid spill

Posted by Walter Davis