San Diego - On January 20, International Relief Teams (IRT) deployed its 13th team of volunteer construction workers to Mississippi to repair homes of families damaged by Hurricane Katrina.

This is the first of six teams scheduled for deployment to Mississippi this year. The team will work primarily in Eastern Mississippi, in the towns of Moss Point, Pascagoula, Ocean Springs, and Gautier, where homes have been prepared for rehab work. In the last two years, 182 IRT volunteers have repaired more than 90 homes in these areas.

"Most of the displaced families are living in temporary shelters," said Barry La Forgia, IRT Executive Director. "Many are poor and elderly living on low and fixed incomes. They cannot afford to rebuild their homes without help."

IRT is working collaboratively with UMCOR-Mississippi, which is providing case management, prioritization of work, and delivery of construction materials to the various locations where the team will be working.

IRT, with 20 years of experience in both international and domestic disasters, has been actively involved in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. In addition to reconstruction and home repairs, IRT sponsored the deployment of medical volunteers who treated hundreds of evacuees at New Orleans airport. IRT also deployed medical teams to the Gulfport/Pass Christian area of Mississippi to provide continuous health maintenance services for displaced families and those returning to the coastal areas. In addition, IRT shipped more than $160,000 in emergency medical supplies to hospitals in desperate need of re-supply in West Jefferson and St. Charles Parish near New Orleans and supplied almost $300,000 in vaccines and medicines to mobile clinics in Gulfport and Pass Christian.