Ida Response
Parish Recovery Assistance Centers: A holistic approach to disaster recovery Story by Janet Marcel Photos by Brooks Lirette After Hurricane Ida made landfall at Port Fourchon on Sunday, Aug. 29, with its 150 plus mile-an-hour winds devastating much of the area that comprises the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux as it moved north through southeast Louisiana, diocesan leadership immediately went to work on a disaster response plan. It soon became clear that many residents in the diocese were temporarily unable to live in their homes because of the damage and some were left homeless after their houses were completely destroyed. One of the many ways the diocese has responded to this disaster, says Karen David, interim chief administrative officer and board chair for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux, was to address these urgent housing needs by working with the National Council of the United States Society of St. Vincent de Paul (SVDP), and its sister company, the Disaster Services Corporation (DSC), to set up Parish Recovery Assistance Centers (P-RACs) in the diocese. “I am incredibly proud of our efforts throughout Phase One of the diocesan disaster response plan. During the beginning of October, we implemented Phase Two, moving from responding to reopening efforts, which focus on case work and case management,” says David. At a P-RAC, case workers document damages, listen to victims’ stories and assist them in registering for federal and state programs. Each family who visits a P-RAC receives a gift card to help support any unmet needs they might have. During the month of October, P-RACs were strategically located in key areas throughout the Diocese of
In photo above, case workers interview storm victims at St. Eloi Church parish in Theriot. In photo below, storm victims are interviewed at the Good Samaritan Food Bank in Thibodaux.
Houma-Thibodaux assessing people’s needs and discerning the best ways to help them. The P-RACs were located in each of the following areas for two weeks: St. Joseph, Chauvin; St. Eloi, Theriot; Sacred Heart, Cut Off; Holy Family, Grand Caillou; Holy Savior, Lockport; Our Lady of Prompt Succor, Golden Meadow; St. Lucy Church,
42 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • December 2021
Houma; St. Lawrence the Martyr, Kraemer; Thibodaux Food Bank, Thibodaux; St. Charles Borromeo, Pointe-aux-Chenes; and Sacred Heart, Montegut. Through the support of the National Council of the U.S. Society of St. Vincent de Paul, over 3,000 case files of local people from across
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