Local rides out Hurricane Ida in East Houma: ‘It got pretty crazy’
September 4, 2021
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Grace Eisenman, the owner of Morgan City’s Market by Southern Grace, has set up a donation for Hurricane Ida relief efforts.
Market by Southern Grace is a local shop that contains many small businesses that offer items such as handmade jewelry, soaps, custom signs, clothes, and even contains a micro-bakery, Cher t’ Dough. These vendors have all come together to offer items that 100 percent of proceeds go towards Hurricane Efforts.
Eisenman said her first thought after seeing the devastation was, “That was supposed to be us; my home, my business; my community.” She said the idea to lend a helping hand wasn’t an idea at all but rather a gut feeling. “When you put yourself in their shoes,” she said, “you can only want to help.” She said that even the fundraising, shopping for supplies, and cooking meals for those that have lost everything has her feeling lost, and she could not imagine dealing with that amount of loss. “I have two kids younger than three and a husband, and I honestly wouldn’t know what to do or how to cope if I were in the position some of these families are in.”
Morgan City has been taking strides to lend a helping hand to neighbors in Terrebonne and Lafourche Parishes. The shop owner said that watching her hometown come together to feed, clothe, and house not only evacuees but also volunteers has been amazing. Her father works offshore. He has come home from his thirty-day shifts, got a little sleep, and headed east the next day to help with clean-up efforts. He’s now in Texas advocating for funding for relief efforts.
She said vendors from her store have come in and fill tables with items they crafted to sell for fundraising. She’s also witnessed local business owners who have contacted people out of state for supplies, and supplies showed up in a matter of one or two days.
Although things are busier than usual in Morgan City, lines are long, grocery stores are becoming empty, Eisenman said, “To my hometown and home parish, please be patient and welcoming. This could’ve been and was supposed to be us. Put the shoe on the other foot and be thankful it wasn’t our community asking for help.”
She also stated heartfully to Ida survivors, “To our new guests in SMP and our neighbors still over to the east; we’ve got you. We will always be here in any way we can. We will feed you as long as we have to. We will house you until you have a home or if you want to make a new home here. If you need a job, we will find you one. South LA is a family, and we will treat you as such. You will rebuild one day, and when that day comes, we will cry tears of joy with you.”
The Market can be visited at 1500 Federal Ave., in Morgan City.
