(CAMDEN – August 24, 2006) In an effort to respond to the desperate need for volunteers in Louisiana and Mississippi, Bishop Joseph Galante has authorized Catholic Charities, the social service agency of the Diocese of Camden, to send up to 30 teams of 12 to15 parishioner volunteers each to help clean-up or repair homes damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
The trips, the first of which is scheduled for October 18-22, will take place over an eighteen month period. According to Kevin Hickey, executive director of Catholic Charities, the initiative has been named “Project One,” because “this is but one step in a recovery effort that will take months and even years, and to highlight the solidarity we have with the people of that region. We are all one people, one nation and we are all responsible for all; this is a tremendous opportunity for individuals to assist our brothers and sisters who are still hurting and to assist those most affected by the devastation.”
An estimated 92,000 houses in New Orleans and 200,000 houses in the greater New Orleans metro area were severely damaged or destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. In Biloxi, where over 65,000 homes were flood-ravaged and destroyed, people still are living in tents and trailers as they wait for aid. Meanwhile, houses need moldy drywall and debris removed before they can be cleaned and renovated.
Five trips have been scheduled so far: October 18-22, November 8-12, November 15-19, December 6-10 and December 13-17. Air travel and lodging and most food costs will be covered by Catholic Charities of Camden and Catholic Charities of New Orleans or Biloxi.
The trips are being funded in part through a diocesan-wide special collection that was taken up last year. That collection raised nearly $1.1 million, 75 percent which was forwarded to Catholic Charities USA for immediate disaster relief and 25 percent which was retained by Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden to assist in post-disaster recovery.
In addition to the trips planned for this year and next, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden has provided $23,000 in direct assistance for furniture, rent, utilities, household supplies, transportation, clothing and prescriptions to 81 individuals from the Gulf Region who relocated temporarily or permanently to this region. Along with direct assistance, 11 Catholic Charities’ staff members spent 59 days in the Gulf Region between Fall 2005 and Spring 2006 to assist with case management, home visits, as well as training of new staff.
In June, another 16 diocesan employees traveled to New Orleans to participate in Operation Helping Hands, a volunteer clean-up program of the Archdiocese of New Orleans which helps gut homes to ready them for rebuilding. In January, Catholic Charities, Diocese of Camden also sent more than 24,000 pounds (three full tractor-trailers) of furniture and household items to residents of the Gulf region who relocated to Nashville and Austin. For information, contact Jennifer Dyer, Program Director for Disaster Relief, at 856-342-4107.