Mass. charities contribute to quake relief efforts

BOSTON -- Bay State families and charities reached out to help the victims of Monday’s earthquake in Haiti.

In Dorchester, Catholic Charities Boston have been trying to help many local Haitians get in touch with loved ones in the country.

The American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay plans to take part in Haiti earthquake relief efforts as well.

“We have received a call from our national office that we need people on standby, people who work for us who are experts in international response efforts. They understand IT, communications, logistics and shelter operations,” said Deborah Jackson, CEO of American Red Cross of Massachusetts Bay.

Jackson says the organization has staff trained in these areas.

“They are on hold right now with the possibility they will be called up within the next couple of days to go to Haiti,” said Jackson.

Nonprofit international medical provider Partners in Health, which has a large office in Boston, also hopes to send a number of professionals to Haiti.

“Each place where are staff are working, there are hundreds of wounded people are showing up. There’s death all around. People are seeing crushed cars as they drive through the streets,” said Ted Constan from Partners in Health.

Constan says Partners in Health has been in regular communication with its staff in Haiti.

The organization employs 4,000 Haitians, who have been trained by U.S. medical workers to run at Partners in Health hospitals and clinics in the country.

Almost all of the 4,000 Haitians who work for Partners in Health have been accounted for, along with 10 Americans working for the company.

The 10 Partners in Health facilities are located north of the capital, Port-au-Prince, from 40 minutes to four hours away. The earthquake struck just outside of capital.

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