Respond, Reopen, Recover; Catholic Diocese Hurricane Ida Impact Report

Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux proved that a heart of servitude goes a long way after raising $4.5 million after Hurricane Ida to help respond, reopen, and recover.

During Phase I, which was the first six weeks of immediate response, the Catholic Charities was on the ground serving people of both Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes where it was needed most; food, shelter, gas, and mobile medical units. According to the Catholic Charities Impact Report, there were more than 250 tons of supplies that were distributed including generators, cleaning supplies, personal hygiene, tools, and more. The charity also distributed more than 175,000 hot meals that were made possible through partners in addition to the hot meals the area’s Catholic Church parishes served. Through this phase, 19 of the Diocese’s churches became the main sources of hot meals, nonperishable food, and supply distributions. 

The report shared that a warehouse was able to open thanks to in-kind sponsors that allowed truckloads of supplies to be delivered and distributed to the 19 Catholic Church parishes, Baptist Churches, and other nonprofit points of distribution. Along with this, volunteer groups helped families with cleaning up debris and preparation for mucking and gutting homes. Catholic Charity was able to also partner with the Cajun Navy to help with recovery processes as well as provide the Cajun Navy’s housing at Lumen Christi Retreat Center.

Mobile medical units were set up in the southern parts of Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes to ensure that the communities were able to have access to medical care when Ida took away access. They also partnered with local, and national, non-profits to expand services such as Catholic Charities USA, Acadiana, Lake Charles, New Orleans, and Miami. Also, Red Cross, FEMA, World Central Kitchen, Premiere Catering, Second Harvest, Amazon, Rouses, and Cannata’s were huge supporters during Phase 1.

Reopen was the second phase where Catholic Charities, along with partners from across the country, were told that the normal response phase lasts approximately two to three weeks. Hurricane Ida had other plans. Due to the extent of the damage within our parishes, communities remained without clean water, gas, power, and necessities. The response phase lasted more than six weeks. However, light and clean water eventually returned, making it time to move into Phase 2 where in partnership with St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities were able to open 10 Parish Resource Assistance Centers where more than 3,000 casework files were opened by families and individuals.

The organization also was able to hand out more than $250,000 in gift cards grocery cards and visa cards to allow 3,000 families and individuals to help purchase food and resources. Caseworkers helped more than 600 families to fill FEMA claims before the agency’s deadline. They also helped muck, gut, and repair 70 homes before April of 2022 including staff and volunteer groups. The volunteers also provided more than 700 blankets to kids through Blankets 4 Kids and granted $57,000 to eight public schools and Catholic schools for classroom supplies and uniforms.

Catholic Charities were able to deliver truckloads of plywood to assist with home repairs thanks to organization partners. They opened ‘The Pantry’ which provided nonperishable food and supplies in 11 schools across the diocese with the Lafourche District Attorney’s Office along with other local partners. 

The Catholic Community Center was completely demolished during the storm and the Caritas Food Bank in Houma had significant damage forcing the food banks to close. During Phase II, Catholic Charities reopened two other food banks in Raceland and Thibodaux eight weeks after the storm and St. Lucy’s Day Care was opened for the 44 students it serves. Also, Assisi Bridge House, a secondary care program for men dealing with addiction, began accepting new clients during this phase.

Phase III is the longest phase and our area will remain in this phase for a while; recovery. Despite this, the report stated that Bishop Fabre and Catholic Charities are committed to walking with people through the recovery process and comforting them through this difficult time. Catholic Charities has embarked on the recovery phase by case management and direct family financial aid that requires the most resources for the next three years. “It is our hope that through the prayers and generosity of the faithful, Catholic Charities will be able to impact more than 2,000 families through the recovery process over the next three years with financial assistance and case management,” the report reads.

Of the 3,000 family cases opened at the centers, the organization estimates that 2,000 of the families will need ongoing help. This has resulted in Catholic Charities implementing a case management team with 10 managers to walk with 25-35 families at a time through their insurance and FEMA claims, connecting them with gutting resources, and direct financial assistance. They hope to provide more than $1,200,000 of direct financial support to families annually for the next three years and they are anticipating using a tiered scoring system based on income level, damage to their home, and insurance coverage, each family will receive the right assistance.

Catholic Charities reported over $4.5 million raised where they have shared exactly how the funds are being used. So far, $1,600,000 has helped with direct financial assistance, $700,000 helped muck/guck/repair/rebuild homes, $710,000 has gone to immediate humanitarian aid, $400,000 are restricted funds, $200,000 has gone towards office administrative expenses, and $1,000,000 went to casework/management. They have recognized the following Corporate partners: Baton Rouge Area Foundation, Bayou Community Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cajun Ninja, Cannata’s Market, Catholic Charities U.S.A., Acadiana, and many others, Catholic Extension, Catholic Home Mission, Chevron, Greater New Orleans Foundation, John Deere Foundation, Premier Catering, Rouses Markets, State Farm, Verizon, and hundreds of generous donors across the country.

“‘Comfort My People’ has been my episcopal motto since I was ordained a Bishop in 2007, words that have meant more to me these past six months than perhaps ever before,” Most Reverend Shelton J. Fabre wrote, “Hurricane Ida swept across our diocese leaving lives torn apart, families displaced, businesses in shambles and our churches left picking up the pieces. Comforting the people of our diocese is the driving force behind our efforts with Catholic Charities and our church parishes…It is my hope that this brief Impact Report will give you a glimpse of the face of Jesus in the people of our diocese as we Respond, Reopen, and Recover.”

Visit catholiccharitiesht.org for more information.