Morgan City Auditorium Puts Boots to Ground for Hurricane Efforts

Elisabeth Price has a passion for not only her city, but her soul is Louisiana Strong. She wears various hats throughout Morgan City. Not only is she the Morgan City Municipal Auditorium Manager, but she is the Morgan City Main Street Director, Historic Preservation Commission & Certified Local Government Liason, Cultural District Liason, and Special Programs Coordinator. When Hurricane Ida hit, she knew that Morgan City would lend a helping hand as much as they could.

The Morgan City Auditorium is housing U.S. Coast Guards displaced from the eastern parishes, and occasionally, linemen. The auditorium put out a call for help to the community that the facility would be a drop-off location for donations and Price said the response has been overwhelming. The community has come together to cook three meals a day for the people staying at the auditorium and branching out into other places where linemen, work crews, and evacuees are. She said many people have wanted to help but don’t know how or cannot be the literal boots on the ground in the affected areas, so they have helped with washing clothes and towels for those who have no access to washers and dryers. This, she said, is making a huge impact.

Price said the whole experience has been a bit of trial by fire. She said the last hurricanes that they were operational shelters for were Andrew and Katrina, which is before she was even of working age. “We’re figuring it out as we go,” she said, “working hand in hand with the Coast Guard to accommodate their needs to the best of our ability and still help our neighbors to the East by collecting donations.” She is thankful for her assistant, Germaine Yarber, who has been amazing in helping to coordinate with the Coast Guard, volunteers, scheduling, and donations, “I can breathe knowing she can handle herself and happenings here too,” she said.

She said seeing the amount of outpouring from Morgan City and the surrounding communities has been amazing thus far. She noted as well that those coming from surrounding states have been a little surprised by a random stranger’s willingness to help, something that may seem normal to southerners. She recalled meeting three men from Michigan who wanted to help, so they raised money to rent a truck and buy water to bring down here. They drove from Michigan! She said they filled their bellies with some good cajun cookin’ before they left to return home. “Simple things like food, water, and clean clothes help these people who lost so much,” she said. “Our hope is to ease and relieve some of their pain and stress.”

She said the influx of evacuees to the area has caused a shortage in gas, food, and water. “People are making it though and we know we’re all in this together. We know if the shoe was on the other foot, our neighbors to the East would be doing the same for us, “ she exclaimed. She has family friends in the affected area, so she has been speaking to them through the storm, hearing their stories, and trying to fill their needs. Prices’ sons’ father and stepmom along with most of their family have damage to their homes, some have lost their homes completely.

Price has been through hurricanes before and has worked dispatch for the Fire Department from City Hall. She said being a mom this time around has changed things. “My anxiety watching the storm get closer and keep changing directions was insane,” she said.

She and her twin sons are going with local Scouts to cook for people in Larose and bring as many supplies as they can. She is treating it as a teaching moment and tried her best to prepare her sons when they evacuated that they may come home to nothing. At the time the family evacuated, Ida was projected to be a direct hit for the area. “I want to make sure that they understand how lucky we are and that our neighbors need our help,” she said.

Price said she has always been a big supporter of building community and making people feel welcome to make them feel a connection of some kind when they visit the area. She said, “We now have people calling Morgan City home, whether it’s only temporary, or if they decide to stay. We want them to know that they are welcome, that we are here for them, and we will do our very best to help in any way that we can.”

The Morgan City Municipal Auditorium and other places partnered with the facility are still taking some donations:

Water, sanitary products, feminine products, nonperishable food items, tarps of any size, formula, diapers, baby food, mops, brooms, shovels, garbage bags, adult diapers, first aid kits, batteries of all kinds, roof nails, work gloves, generators, battery-operated fans – handheld & larger, solar-powered lights & lamps, bleach, towels, nylon scrub brushes, big plastic bins, extension cords, ant/mosquito/bug killer, mold remediation, tire patches, baby wipes, power strips, dog/cat food, pet pee pads, and sunscreen. She advised they have paused taking in clothing donations because they have had trouble finding places to distribute due to the shortage of staff and restrictions set by the USCG when it comes to personnel.

The Morgan City Municipal Auditorium is located at 728 Myrtle Street in Morgan City.