Special
Disaster Recovery Group of CCH-T has assisted over 100 families in diocese Story by Janet Marcel ~ Photos courtesy of Lee Shaffer “The outpouring of support from volunteers in and out of the community for victims of Hurricane Ida in our diocese has been a beautiful aspect of our apostolate,” says Lee Shaffer, associate director of Parish Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator for Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux (CCH-T). “We have witnessed caring volunteers who donate their time and resources, and actually help people who are often hopeless and having a difficult time recovering from a disaster. The love and kindness that is given and received by both the volunteer and the person in need is a very rewarding interaction to be part of as a Christian. Young people listening and praying with elderly residents who are in need is something that I feel blessed to be a part of,” Shaffer says. The Disaster Recovery Group of CCH-T has been helping people in many different communities throughout the diocese and have assisted over 100 families thus far, explains Shaffer. They have typically focused their efforts on those in most need. “Our emphasis is often on the elderly, the single mothers, the disabled and those who just can’t help themselves as much as they wish they could. Initially, we helped with mucking and gutting to get rid of the wood and sheetrock that had mold and mildew. Now we are progressing to rebuilding these homes with sheetrock and insulation installation, replacing and repairing roofs, replacing ramps, and making appliance purchases.” Shaffer says they are not doing this alone, however. They have had the support from the many non-profits, including AmeriCorps, Rebuilding Together – New Orleans & Bayou, 28 • Bayou Catholic • Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux • July 2022
St. Vincent De Paul, Knights of St. Peter Claver, Knights of Columbus, ToolBank, CORE, Christian Public Service, St. Bernard Project, and volunteers from around the country. Recently a group of volunteers from Catholic High School in Baton Rouge provided the diocese with a day of service before they had to be at a fundraising fishing rodeo for the school. They came in at 8 a.m. and worked until about 3 p.m. “Catholic Charities bought the sheetrock and lumber, and volunteers from Catholic High and Christian Public Services helped me and two other employees from CCH-T (David Lopez and Daniel Hebert) re-build a wall in the home of an 89-year-old resident in Golden Meadow. We then started to install sheetrock in five other rooms. In all, we completed three rooms in his home that day,” explains Shaffer. As of press time, the Disaster Recovery Group of CCH-T had several groups lined up to work on future projects, including a group of spring breakers from Baltimore, MD, and a group of 125 volunteers from around the country who are with the Catholic Conference and Service Camp organization, “Alive in You.” On Aug. 11, a team of AmeriCorp volunteers will be arriving to work with CCH-T for 10 months. Shaffer says they are always willing to take individual and group volunteers to help with this disaster recovery process. “Our tag line is that ‘We plan to leave no one behind,’ and this means we are going to continue to help for the long-term.” For more information about volunteering, contact Shaffer or Catholic Charities Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux at (985)876-0490. BC
