Hurricane Ida recovery

Jennifer Armand, executive director of Bayou Community Foundation (BCF), welcomed members of BCF, Greater New Orleans Foundation, and Mennonite Disaster Service (MDS), state and parish leaders, diocesan representatives, nonprofit partners, and local residents to a dedication ceremony held recently to celebrate the completion of the first two homes built in the bayou community of Dulac for victims of Hurricane Ida.
 
This project was made possible through an $850,000 grant from Bayou Community Foundation’s Bayou Recovery Fund for Hurricane Ida Relief and MDS. Funding for the grant was provided by gifts from individual and corporate donors, $300,000 from the Governor’s Hurricane Ida Relief and Recovery Fund, and a $300,000 matching grant from Greater New Orleans Foundation’s Hurricane Ida Disaster Response & Restoration Fund.

Armand thanked the many volunteers and generous donors from throughout the state and country who made this project possible. “This is such a tremendous accomplishment in our Hurricane Ida recovery efforts. This gives us hope and shows us the heart of the people here. We are so blessed to have the Mennonites working here with us.”

Within weeks of the storm, Armand told those present, it became clear that housing was the most critical need for recovery, requiring demolition and new home construction for residents with little means to rebuild on their own.

“We knew the restoration of the community and the people depended on it. That is why we were so grateful when, in October 2021, volunteers from the Pennsylvania-based nonprofit Mennonite Disaster Service Storm Aid visited Father Antonio Maria Speedy, pastor of Holy Family Church parish in Grand Caillou,” says Armand. “It was then that the idea of a Bayou Community Foundation funded grant project to build and repair homes in this hard-hit bayou community was born. This is the project we celebrate today.”

Homeowners Linda Faye Pellegrin, and Abraham and Robin Parfait, and their families were on hand to accept the keys to their new homes, built by Mennonite Disaster Service. Father Speedy blessed the homes as part of the dedication ceremony.

The MDS built a total of 10 new houses, completed 40 major home repairs and 36 home demolitions in the bayou community as of the end of May 2022. The two and three bedroom MDS homes are designed and built for storm resiliency as part of the Federal Alliance for Safe Homes “Strong Homes Initiative.” Strong Homes provides donated services and products to upgrade homes to meet the IBHS FORTIFIED hurricane wind standard. The homes are rated for 160 mph winds and are elevated far above FEMA requirements.

Grant funds are used to purchase building materials, while construction labor is provided at no cost by MDS volunteers. Homeowners also contribute insurance or FEMA proceeds received toward construction costs, and appliances are donated by a nonprofit, Rebuilding Together Bayou.

“MDS is grateful to join hands with so many wonderful partners as we put our faith into action with a hammer and paintbrush serving our neighbors in need. From our offices in Pennsylvania, I keep hearing reports of the gracious hospitality of the Dulac community – that our volunteers keep wanting to go back and serve,” says Kevin King, executive director of MDS.

Bayou Community Foundation President Henry Lafont says, “We are grateful to MDS for sending volunteers to Dulac and working with us to fill this critical housing need.”

Lafont says it was because of an extraordinarily successful partnership between Bayou Community Foundation, MDS, Holy Family Catholic Church parish and Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux (CCH-T), along with the generosity of the Bayou Recovery Fund donors, Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Governor’s Hurricane Ida Relief and Recovery Fund that they were able to welcome the first two families to their new homes.

Abraham and Robin Parfait and their two young sons lost their home and all of their belongings when the roof of their home was blown away by Hurricane Ida’s Category 4 winds. The family was left with no means to rebuild, until they learned about the MDS project.

“Hurricane Ida took all of the ‘things’ in our life, but not what matters most – our family and friends. We are grateful for all of our new friends from MDS, Bayou Community Foundation and the other groups who have given us a new chance at life and a new, beautiful, strong home along the bayou. This is where the Parfait family belongs, and we thank God and all the generous donors and volunteers who have helped us rebuild a home here,” says Abraham.

“This is such a blessing,” adds his wife Robin. “I am so thankful. I don’t know how to thank these people, because they did so much. It’s just amazing. I don’t know if I thanked everyone … but I want to thank everyone.”

Faye Pellegrin’s home was also completely destroyed by Hurricane Ida’s powerful winds. Her daughter Candice says all that was left was debris all over the yard. “It was a hard pill to swallow when we turned in the driveway at the house to see all of our belongings all over the yard … I did not think we would come home to everything gone.”

The Pellegrins are also grateful and happy to be back “home.” “Our neighbors miss us. They are already planning a housewarming party for us,” says Candice’s son Logan.

“It is such a blessing that these people came here to share their time and talents to build these houses for us,” says Faye. “We are very thankful and grateful for all they have done for us and the people of Dulac. After the hurricane, we didn’t know what we were going to do; we didn’t have insurance. Then the Mennonites came down here and we qualified for their assistance, so they built a house for us and we can’t thank them enough.”

The Pellegrins, Parfaits and other families were identified and selected for this Hurricane Ida home rebuild and repair program through the extensive case management efforts of Holy Family Church parish in Dulac and CCH-T. In addition to the 50 homeowners initially selected for assistance this spring, over 100 homeowners remain on a waiting list for the project.
Paula Dawson-Ringo, case manager for Hurricane Ida disaster relief, says one of her responsibilities is to make sure all of the proper documents are completed and in place for projects like this one. There is a lot of paperwork to be done and requirements that have to be met, she says.

Kathy Verdin, case manager for Hurricane Ida disaster relief and native of Grand Caillou, has been working with the hurricane victims in the area. She says even though she grew up here and thought she knew the people; she didn’t really know them until she listened to their stories. “When working with those who are suffering a loss like this, I tell them they have to trust that God will provide. People who lose everything will naturally question God; that’s human nature. But this is a happy ending for these families and I’m grateful to God for that.”

“Bayou Recovery Fund grants will continue to help residents repair, rebuild and return to our unique and precious Terrebonne, Lafourche and Grand Isle communities in the months ahead. This is just the beginning,” says Lafont.

In 2012, local residents, business owners and philanthropists came together to establish the Bayou Community Foundation, which specifically serves Lafourche Parish, Terrebonne Parish, and Grand Isle in coastal southeast Louisiana. With BCF, this region can now receive private contributions for relief and recovery if and when the next disaster strikes, and donors can be confident that their gifts will be used strategically to directly benefit local disaster victims and help their community rebuild.

Gifts to the Bayou Community Foundation’s Bayou Recovery Fund may be made at any time and qualify for the maximum deductions allowed for charitable donations. Making donations ahead of a disaster helps BCF to build a bucket now, allowing them to act quickly to help organizations on the ground with initial relief efforts immediately following a storm or disaster. Donations during and after a storm will be important to provide for the immediate and long-term recovery needs of this Bayou Region.