Councils/Committees/Groups
Disaster Preparedness & Recovery
Hurricane Francine Updates - September 2024
Today's Lagniappe: One of our challenges in Louisiana is that we do disasters regularly and all too often. This can lead to confusion about changes in programs and assumptions about how things were "the last time" or the time before that, or before that. While this event is very impactful for every person affected, it is not the same as Hurricanes Laura or Ida or other larger scale events and therefore, we should not make assumptions about what may be automatically available. Just a few examples: parish Points of Distribution (PODs), roadside debris pickup in every parish, generator and chainsaw reimbursement through FEMA. Some of these things are dependent on the size and scope of an event, requested and justified waivers, and declaration coverage for various categories of assistance, to name a few. As we learned after Ida, changes can also happen along the way and so we will continue to provide updates and messaging from our Federal, State and local partners as made available. Please verify before assuming something is the same as last time.
PSL Disaster Preparedness & Recovery Team
Rebecca Lovingood & Dan Wally Lang, co-chairs
Doug Walker
Robert J Bennett
Leslie Mansell
Update Emergency and Personal Contact Information
PSL Disaster Preparation Checklist for the Local Congregation
SPDR’s 12 Steps to Church Disaster Preparedness Plan
Hurricane Kits Across PSL
Kits including a solar panel and battery system for charging phones and other small devices, as well as other emergency supplies are located across the presbytery. These kits may be moved to wherever the need is across our region. Their current locations are:
Faith, Harvey
Berean, New Orleans
Jefferson
First, Hammond
First, Lafayette
St. Andrews, Lake Charles
PSL offices in Baton Rouge
St. Charles Ave., New Orleans
Gheens Presbyterian, Gheens/Raceland
Long Term Recovery Teams
Lake Charles Team (Hurricanes Laura & Delta): Continuing to provide housing, utilities and rent assistance, food and clothing assistance, and much more.
Bayou Region Team (Hurricane Ida): Recently awarded a PDA National Recovery Grant to support disaster case management providers from impacted communities to more equitably connect survivors with recovery resources. In addition, the grant will provide funding for rebuild/construction costs & building supplies.
New Orleans Region Team (Hurricane Ida): Preparing a PDA National Recovery Grant Application to support ongoing recovery needs in the region.
Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery (SPDR)
https://www.synodsun.org/spdr-about-us
PSL is a covenant partner of the Synod Partnership for Disaster Recovery, a four-year pilot initiative with the 11 presbyteries of the Synod of the Sun and Presbyterian Disaster Assistance.
SPDR serves to increase the 4Cs – Cooperation, Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration – among the covenant partners before, during and after disaster events.