When Katrina struck, Albany Diocese responded in force

A year after Hurricane Katrina wrecked the Gulf Coast, Catholic Charities of the Albany Diocese has learned that, when disaster strikes, they must serve as long-term advocates for the people affected.

"People see Catholic Charities as being there in the long run," said Sister Maureen Joyce, RSM, executive director of Albany diocesan Catholic Charities. "They see us available after other agencies leave. We have learned that we don't have to be the people who are there on day one. We need to be the advocates for people, make sure they receive access to the things they need and use the money to fill in the gaps when entitlement programs are not meeting their needs."

A year after the disaster, the $1,300,000 collected for Katrina relief from Catholics in the Albany Diocese -- minus money earmarked for families relocating to the Diocese -- has been passed to Catholic Charities agencies in the dioceses of Baton Rouge, Biloxi and New Orleans.

There, it has been dispensed as humanitarian aid to meet the needs of thousands of displaced and struggling Gulf Coast citizens.

Albany Angels

"When Katrina struck, we were in touch with local Catholic Charities in the Gulf Coast, and wanted to know what financial and people resources they needed," said Sister Maureen.

One of the Albany Diocese's most visible contributions to the relief effort has been the 60 Catholic Charities volunteers sent to assist colleagues in Baton Rouge and Biloxi in tasks as varied as filing papers, case management, furniture distribution and even arranging social events for children living in FEMA villages.

Their work earned them the nickname of "The Albany Angels." The volunteers went for two to three weeks, and included Catholic Charities employees, nurses, teachers, parish workers, religious sisters, skilled construction workers, older couples and a former superintendent of schools.

Varied duties

"Initially, [the volunteers] were giving out grant money from FEMA," said Sister Maureen. "As time went on, they assisted people with furniture, access to medical care, developing directories of services and the infrastructure that had been destroyed. They went trailer to trailer to find out what the needs were."

The volunteers also assisted Baton Rouge Catholic Charities staff in following up on case-management issues. They helped people obtain prescription medication, took children to the zoo, worked to save buildings from flooding, helped residents reconstruct homes, stocked kids' backpacks with back-to-school supplies and took care of "things that you don't think of: that give normality, that help people get back to real life," according to Michele Kelly, chief fiscal officer for Albany diocesan Catholic Charities.

With the last scheduled group of volunteers returning to the area last week, Sister Maureen plans on discussing the needs with other Catholic Charities leaders at an upcoming conference. They will then decide on whether further volunteers from the Albany Diocese are needed.

Pitching in

Many of the volunteers had also worked with Catholic Charities during the aftermath of 9/11, said Sister Maureen.

"They found volunteering was a very focused way of going to where the need was greatest, of reaching out and respecting the people who are hurting," she said. "They see it as part of their Christian service of living out the Gospel."

"It meant a lot to [the affected dioceses] not to be forgotten," said Ms. Kelly.

What Sister Maureen is most pleased with was the "psychological reinforcement" Albany volunteers gave residents they came in contact with -- "giving them a sense of hope. Any state barriers were broken down. We were Church. It went a long way."

South to north

Currently, 20 families from the Gulf Coast have been relocated to the Albany Diocese, and Sister Maureen expects that more will arrive during the coming year.

While some have friends or relatives in the area, others are new to the Diocese, having been referred to Catholic Charities by the Red Cross.

"The services we provided ran the whole gamut, from overnight shelter and food to working [with families] for 6-8 months, helping them transition to permanent housing," Sister Maureen explained. "We found them apartments, and in some instances put them in a career advancement program to help them achieve their career goals."

More to do

Sister Maureen's next goal is for Catholic Charities to develop a comprehensive disaster relief plan that will utilize the organization's talent for filling in the gaps, while not getting in the way of government agencies and organizations providing their own aid.

"We want to be able to step back and have a response plan in place so that, should there be another natural disaster, we can respond immediately and have things in place," she said. "For the first month, we lived and breathed the relief effort, and created the process as we went along. We want to have a plan ready to roll out of another disaster occurs: resources, plans and contacts in counties so we can work with the people who are in place.

"We have some great partners with the state and other churches; we need to make sure we're part of the fabric."

(8/31/06) [[In-content Ad]]