Gulfport, Mississippi ― June 29, 2010 ― IRD is cosponsoring and addressing long term recovery needs as part of the Oil Spill Summit set to take place on June 30, 2010 at the University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Park Campus in Long Beach, Mississippi

Together with South Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters (SMVOAD) and the University of Southern Mississippi's Center for Policy and Resilience (USM-CPR) and along with other active agencies in the Gulf Coast, IRD will address long term impacts of the Oil Spill disaster. One of the goals of the summit is to address immerging issues and develop strategies for regional recovery. 

This immense call for collaboration will include different types of organizations (businesses, human service organizations, faith based organizations, government and other nongovernmental organizations and associations) all working together to help the affected communities.

This Summit is envisioned as the first of a series and has the following primary goals:

• - Identify key types and scale of potential long term impacts of this disaster on Mississippi Gulf Coast residents, businesses and the coastal environment.
• - Develop strategic partnerships to address these needs in follow-up meetings.
• - Provide input for a joint policy statement on the necessary resources to address primary needs associated with recovery.
• - Provide input for a long term recovery plan, including regional partnerships and one or more Regional Summits.
• - To accomplish these goals the Summit Planning Committee is providing speakers and background information to focus on the following areas:
• - Environmental Impacts (Potential long term damage and clean-up)
• - Economic Impacts (Loss of revenue, employees, industry)
• Emotional/Health Impacts