T’bonne COA housing storm supplies locally

Hurricane destruction doesn’t discriminate – therefore neither does the Terrebonne Parish Council on Aging.

Even though the council focuses on assisting the elderly on a daily basis, it also provides supplies to citizens of any age after the wrath of a hurricane.

“We have been doing recovery since 1992 with [Hurricane] Andrew, and we have just gotten more and more involved,” said Terrebonne Parish Council on Aging Director Diana Edmonson.

But in order to quickly get supplies to needy families, the council needed space to store them locally.

That’s why the council built a 26,000 square foot warehouse in Houma three years ago.

“With the size of the warehouse, the elderly will still get their fair share, but we know that we can supply other people in the community, and we can assist other agencies,” said Edmonson. “It doesn’t matter your age. What matters is your need.”

The warehouse holds supplies from multiple agencies in one, central location, making the dispersal of goods more organized during the aftermath of a hurricane.

“Some of the supplies we have in the warehouse come from the closure of some FEMA warehouses that we were able to obtain, and we have a few things left over from the past storms,” said Edmonson. “Right now, I have some bedding supplies, dishes, bath supplies and a little food.”

Edmonson said the food is prepackaged, and in the case of a hurricane, she would most likely donate it to the parish for its assisted evacuations.

“It’s a long ride, and it’s the kind of food that you could just eat right on the spot – you don’t have to heat it up,” she said. “We would try to put some of that on each of the busses that are going out of town.”

The director said the rest of the supplies would be given to needy families trying to recover in the aftermath of a storm.

“[The warehouse] has been very successful,” said Edmonson. “In the last storm, when Red Cross left the Civic Center, we had as many as seven trucks unloading and items being dispersed from the warehouse.”

Edmonson hopes the warehouse receives bottled water before the next hurricane affects Terrebonne Parish.

But until it does, Edmonson said the warehouse can help supply needy families year round.

As a member of Bayou Area Readiness and Recovery (BARR), the Terrebonne Parish Council on Aging works with other member organizations to support those who cannot support themselves.

“Some of the organizations in BARR do case work once a month where they find a family in need and find out what they need,” said Edmonson. “Then they go to the warehouse, and if we have it, they can have it.”