RELIEF-EFFORT LOGISTICS LACKING.

Byline: Evan Pondel Staff Writer

VAN NUYS - Hundreds of pallets of diapers, blankets, bottled water and canned food line nearly a block of Airport Business Parkway, stranded like many of the people they're meant to relieve.

Organizers are not sure when the next truck will arrive to haul some of the generous donations away.

``We have two trucks coming. No, we have one truck coming today. We should have four trucks this weekend. I'm not sure where they are going. Hold on,'' said Sidney Hall, executive director of Puppies, Babies & Mommies Too.

``This is all new to me. I've never done this before,'' Hall said. ``I've asked people for help because I don't know what I'm doing.''

The experience of this grass-roots relief effort that started three days after Hurricane Katrina swept through the Gulf Coast mirrors what federal aid and professional relief organizations confronted in the aftermath of the country's costliest disaster.

If only the logistics of transporting relief items were easy.

Laurel Kaufer, 44, knows they're not.

After finding Hall's fledgling organization on the Internet, she immediately filled up her Yukon with supplies and headed out to the Van Nuys Airport. But her altruism turned to frustration when she showed up to find clusters of unshipped goods stacked on the curb.

``I couldn't believe it,'' said Kaufer, a single mom from Woodlands Hills with two teenage boys. ``I walked away so frustrated by what I saw that I decided I needed to do something about it.''

So she called Southwest Airlines. And now the discount carrier's public relations department is working with Kaufer to fly the cargo to an undetermined location in the South.

As of Friday afternoon, Southwest couldn't provide details about its relief efforts with Kaufer. ``We're still working with cargo on this,'' said Angela Vargo, spokeswoman for the Dallas-based airline. ``I have a lot of people involved. It's not worth just throwing this on the back burner.''

In recent days, Hall and her pack of sleep-deprived volunteers have grown restless. At one moment, Hall, 32, is jubilant about the prospects of shipping the items to those in need. Minutes later, she seems distracted and overwhelmed.

Her makeshift organization is in the process of applying for nonprofit status. But there's no money coming in to pay for the attorney's fees.

``This is a physical example of the overall failure of the system,'' said Jorja Leap, an adjunct professor of social welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles. ``It is consistent with what we have been witnessing from the beginning. This is a real breakdown.''

Leap doesn't fault Hall and the efforts of her volunteers. Instead, she faults local agencies, state officials and the federal government. If there was some semblance of organization to begin with, people like Hall and Kaufer wouldn't have to take relief efforts into their own hands, she said.

For the time being, the businesses bordering Hall's operations don't mind dodging cardboard boxes on their way to work. Ady Gil runs a production studio that neighbors the relief effort. To do his part, Gil has made room for a dozen Porta Potties in his parking lot and allowed Hall to tap into his phone line.

Ironically, one big question is whether Katrina victims need the relief items. Despite the fact that clothing and food are basic necessities, money donations are garnering more support from the philanthropic community. Some argue that Katrina victims can use the money to buy goods and at the same time stimulate the local economy.

So far, the money is pouring in. Americans have contributed $867.3 million to help victims of the hurricane. That's nearly double what Americans contributed in the two weeks after the 2001 terrorist attacks, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

``What's frustrating is to give even if you don't know the money is going to your intended beneficiaries. Or, the money is being diverted for some other purpose like fraudulent repair people,'' said Holly Hall, senior editor at the Chronicle.

But money also seems cold to donors, and for some people it's often easier to wipe the dust off a few cans of soup than cut a check to an organization. Even so, the Salvation Army - long a collector of closet clutter and unwanted pantry goods - has been advocating cash donations for Hurricane Katrina victims.

The bottom line is that donations are usually better off in the hands of people who know what to do with them. Money is also a lot easier and cheaper to send.

``Rather than starting something new, there are organizations that can help build a system so it goes directly to a cause,'' said Elizabeth Boris, director of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy at the Urban Institute in Washington, D.C.

Hall's organization doesn't guarantee that all items dropped off will go to hurricane victims. But her Web site, www.bellapooch.com, does say that 25 vehicles loaded with goods have arrived safely in Lafayette, La. The group also estimates that more than $2 million in goods have been collected and trucked out to families and pets in need.

Regardless, holding Hall accountable is virtually impossible when her organization isn't incorporated or registered as a nonprofit. And while Hall's work is commendable from a humanitarian perspective, it's also problematic to operate without the appropriate credentials.

``It's irresponsible,'' said Pablo Eisenberg, a senior fellow at the Georgetown University Public Policy Institute, noting amateur groups like Hall's should not get into such a large charity operation without the proper credentials.

The boxes still remain on Airport Business Parkway. Hall's latest request is a warehouse willing to donate some space. In the meantime, she will continue to receive goods. ``It helps people feel good,'' she said. ``It helps people feel like Superman, Wonder Woman and Santa Claus all at the same time.''

Evan Pondel, [phone]

evan.pondel(at)dailynews.com

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Photo:

Jerry Pugmire moves boxes of items donated for victims of Hurricane Katrina on Airport Business Parkway north of Saticoy Street in Van Nuys on Friday.

John McCoy/Staff Photographer