There’s an interview with Karl "Mailman" Malone, ex-NBA great where he talks about his efforts to help with Hurricane Katrina cleanup in Pascagoula, Mississippi.  You can hear it here. Highlights:

• He took a bunch of his own company’s equipment down there from his home in Louisiana and when he arrived he was told he couldn’t help because he didn’t have a contract or a Federal ID number.
• He called "BS" and started working anyway.
• He and his guys cleared 115 houses.
• He says that the people don’t need money right now, they need heavy machinery and manpower to clear lots so they can get FEMA trailers or new houses built.
• Contractors are gouging (I’m shocked).

If what he says is true then I think we really need to look at how our country engages volunteers during responses to disasters.  I know there are a lot of things that the authorities need to consider, and I’m sure words like "liability" and "responsibility" are invoked a lot during conversations about how to coordinate relief, but there has to be a way that they can utilize all of the volunteers that show up to help in these situations.

This isn’t the first story of volunteer help being turned away during the Katrina response.  Back in September several stories came out about people showing up to help in various ways only to be turned away by officials on the ground.  Some people were turned away because the authorities couldn’t guarantee their safety.  Well, why not give the volunteers a waiver to sign saying they understand the risks and then let them do their thing?  And in the future why not make plans for the likelihood that these volunteers will appear and figure out how to integrate them into the process?