Tomorrow
There will be another natural or manmade disaster and there are remaining challenges in human recovery from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The Recovery Corps is committed to fostering a seamless recovery—eliminating duplication of efforts and the gaps in which people can often fall when seeking much-needed aid.
Recovery Corps data and scientific surveys show that 30 percent of households in the New Orleans and Lake Charles areas report hurricane-related hardships in paying rent or mortgages and 40 percent report hardship in paying for necessities, such as utilities, food, clothing or basic appliances and furniture. Housing and rebuild organizations report thousands of households are backlogged on their waiting lists to receiving assistance in repairing their storm-damaged homes or property. These challenges are real and must be addressed as quickly as possible. The Recovery Corps is aggressively seeking funding to combat these challenges in the immediate future.
When the next disaster strikes our state and impacts Louisiana’s citizens, the Recovery Corps and its partner organizations will be there to offer better coordinated, more comprehensive services to meet the human recovery needs of communities. Louisiana Act 313 makes the Recovery Corps the state’s official agent to coordinate humanitarian services in the aftermath of disaster. From promoting collaboration and providing household establishment resources to providing emotional well-being services and re-establishing community and social infrastructure, the Recovery Corps will lead the efforts to restore people’s lives and the entities that serve them.
For more information on Louisiana Act 313, click here. For more information on the Recovery Corps role in the next disaster, click here.
