BCF Continues to Address Community Needs Following Hurricane Ida

A staple in Hurricane Ida relief efforts is Bayou Community Foundation (BCF) and they have raised millions to help community members get through one of the toughest times the area has seen. Recently, the foundation has held a Hurricane Ida needs assessment meeting to discuss what the communities’ needs are, and although the report hasn’t been finalized just yet, Executive Director Jennifer Armand has shared with the Times some insight from the meeting.

They had initially invited 65 attendees to the meeting, but 80 showed up to be a part of the conversation, and Armand said she was very grateful to know so many people were interested in the discussion. The attendees ranged widely from leaders and community members that included parish government leaders, parish presidents, sheriffs, district attorneys, judges, as well as public school representatives, higher education representatives, hospital representatives, and non-profit organizations, FEMA representatives, BCF board members, and more. Armand added that the goal of the meeting was to gather folks from across the spectrum to have a conversation about what they are seeing as needs in our region as we move into more of a recovery phase versus the relief phase. She said it’s time to start looking at a much longer and more complex recovery process and BCF wanted to hear from the people that have been involved in recovery efforts to address what the needs are so the organization can utilize its grant program to help with recovery efforts. 

The background of the needs assessment meeting stems from 2012 when the organization was established. The organization conducted its first community needs assessment meeting in January of 2013 so they can understand what the unmet needs in the community were so they can decide how to establish a grant program to focus on those needs. Armand said they learned a wealth of knowledge from that initial meeting and have served those needs for years following the meeting. They also conducted a needs assessment meeting in 2020 about COVID to understand how COVID is affecting the communities specifically and she said it was a natural evolution for them to hold a meeting for the aftermath of Hurricane Ida to see what changes happened to the communities, what needs are present in the recovery process, and as the Community Foundation for Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Grand Isle, what can they do to help the community through the grant program. She said it was also to make sure the donations are most strategically used to address needs. “It was a great convening of local leaders and non-profits,” she said,” no matter what, when you’re able to pull folks like that across Lafourche, Terrebonne, and Grand Isle, you have great conversations, and I think that was really important for the day is the productive conversations we had.” She said she was grateful for the ideas and thoughts shared and said it was powerful to see. She’s excited to put those findings to paper in a report which will be finalized in the next couple of weeks.

The conversations at the meeting did get emotional at times, but the needs discussed have led to many ideas that Armand said could become something important for the community. Some of the topics discussed included housing, and more specifically, the concern for renters who don’t have a property to place a temporary option. They also spoke about the strain it has on students and how it will affect higher education enrollment. Other topics included mental health, medical needs going forward, education needs following storms, economic development, and business recovery, just to name a few.

Armand said they hit a milestone when it comes to the support of their grant program. Just since Hurricane Ida hit, they have had over $6 million in donations that are being fed directly to the communities and hurricane relief. She said previously, they celebrated a milestone of $800,000 following the start of the COVID pandemic, and she looks forward to the impact the program will have on surrounding communities. They will continue to grant out donations in the most needed ways and the organization is expanding services due to the generosity of those wanting to help those in the recovery phase following Ida. 

Armand said she has never seen such a large amount of support since the inception of the organization. Not only has their presence grown in the community, but it has also gained support from those around the country. The organization has lent a helping hand so well and has consolidated resources to reach a needed population that Armand’s work has now been officially deemed a full-time position! She said the organization is at a point where they have to expand which means the board of directors decided that it was best to announce the organization now has a full-time executive director! Not only is this exciting for Armand, but it means it reflects the work the organization is doing, and its expanding BCF services.

“Through the years, BCF has said this,” Armand said,” we literally just pull up the bootstraps and get to work when something needs to get done. I think that has been evident through all of this.” She ended graciously thanking the organization’s donors for always investing in the recovery of the region and thanked the non-profit organizations who she said are doing all of the heavy lifting to help them through relief and recovery.