Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi has offered two camping sites along the Gulf Coast for use by trained volunteers working to help clean up the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

“LESM is offering both its volunteer camps, Camp Victor in Ocean Springs and Mission on the Bay in Bay St. Louis, to house trained personnel associated with the oil spill cleanup and wildlife rescue,” said Sandra L. Braasch, LESM director of disaster preparedness and response. Braasch is also president of Mississippi Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster.

The camp facilities were used to house volunteers who worked along the Gulf Coast after Hurricane Katrina and served as distribution sites for supplies.

Volunteers must be trained to qualify for participation in beach cleaning work. Federal, state and private entities have asked volunteers to attend training to ensure their personal safety and well-being, according to the Mississippi Emergency Management Agen-cy. Some 2,000 volunteers have already been trained.

The biggest need is likely to be direct assistance to those whose property and/or livelihood is impacted. Spiritual and emotional care may also be needed for the short and long terms.

The spill is an “environmental tragedy” that will affect people’s livelihoods and is “a difficult emotional blow after Katrina,” said the Rev. Kevin A. Massey, director of the Lutheran Disaster Response and ELCA Domestic Disaster Response.

“We’re lifting up the need for pastoral support and supporting (professional) leaders in their ministries,” he said. “This could go on for months and months. Our main mission will be ministering to people in their losses and nurturing their spirits.”

For more information about the LESM campsites, go to www .futuresforfamilies.org.