Federal Association Hurricane Relief Update

On October 9th, a steering committee convened to discuss how the Federal Association can help provide necessary supplies and long-term assistance in the repair and rebuilding of homes for those affected by Hurricane Helene.

Initially, the focus was on the mountains of western North Carolina. The next day, Hurricane Milton struck Florida and Georgia with devastating results. This broadened the needs to areas throughout the Southeast.

In the short term, Rob Rose has been working to procure and send needed supplies to areas in the mountains of North Carolina. For the long term, we are pursuing a partnership to help in rebuilding homes.

Thanks to an introduction by Dennis DuFour, I had an inspiring conversation with Inga Jelescheff of Catholic Charities USA Disaster Operations. CCUSA works on a case-by-case basis to aid the poorest and most needy throughout the United States. They are on the ground in numerous locations working to rebuild homes and lives. We are exploring how we can best collaborate with them.

We envision a project patterned after the successful rebuilding efforts in New Orleans and in Lafayette, LA. The questions of where and when have not yet been confirmed. However, progress continues to be made toward providing those answers.

Thank you to all those serving on the steering committee. The committee comprises Wayne Ruth, Paul David, Derek Ritzel, Rob Rose, Chuck Cornelio, Marguerite Baxter, Father Luke Millette, Kim Boudreaux (Catholic Charities of Acadiana), Deacon Michael Stankewicz, and Jimena Olaya.