Episcopal Relief and Development’s Board of Directors endorsed plans for Phases II and III of the four phase, long-term Hurricane Katrina Response Plan. The board approved $4.7 million in proposals from the Dioceses of Mississippi and Louisiana to meet the unmet needs of people most impacted by the hurricane. Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast region in late August, killing 1,300 people, displacing 1.5 million families, and destroying over 275,000 homes.

“Episcopalians have once again responded with generous hearts and we look forward to continuing our work with the Dioceses of Louisiana and Mississippi as people journey back from the heartbreak and nightmare of a devastating hurricane season,” said the Rt. Rev. Harry B. Bainbridge, Chair of the ERD Board.

Immediately after the disaster, ERD partnered with nine Episcopal dioceses. Our partnerships in dioceses throughout the Gulf Coast region provided critical assistance such as food, shelter, and clothing. ERD also worked with dioceses in Tennessee, Kansas, west Louisiana, northern Alabama, and Texas to support hurricane evacuees.

Over the next year, ERD’s partnership with the Diocese of Mississippi along with the Lutheran Episcopal Disaster Response (LEDR), part of Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi, and the Diocese of Louisiana’s Office of Disaster Response (ODR) will increase local efforts to collect and distribute relief assistance in areas directly affected by the disaster. The work will focus on the following areas: psychosocial care; livelihood, health, and housing recovery; case management, and other interventions.

 Mississippi

In Mississippi, ERD and LEDR will provide food, shelter, and medical assistance through LEDR’s seven relief and recovery staging areas. These essential distribution centers, operating out of churches and church schools, are open in key cities in the state including Long Beach, Ocean Springs, and Diamondhead. The assistance will support clean up crews, medical teams, and provide training in psychosocial and case management services. Partnerships with Duke University medical staff will bring critical medical services to devastated areas.

“We are deeply appreciative of the support and partnership of Episcopal Relief and Development and Lutheran Episcopal Services in Mississippi in the rebuilding of the Mississippi Gulf Coast,” said the Rt. Rev. Duncan Gray, Bishop of Mississippi.

During the next year of the hurricane response, ERD and LEDR will focus on volunteer management with training, case management, education and children’s services, relocation assistance, and housing and business renewal, targeting an estimated 34,000 beneficiaries.

The partnership will train volunteers in psychosocial services which will be provided in targeted communities in Gulfport, Long Beach, Pass Christian, and Biloxi. ERD’s psychosocial services will be linked to other support for direct beneficiaries, families, and their caregivers.

Our response will also include day care, travel and meal vouchers, and computer service training for evacuees. ERD will support new credit union branches in resource centers in both Mississippi and Louisiana which will link case management services to direct credit access for new housing and businesses.

"ERD’s support will enable us to continue responding to the immediate physical and psychological needs of the several thousand people each day who pass through our relief centers.  This partnership will also allow us to be a creative force in the redevelopment of the area in a variety of ways, including equitable access to capital, land use for the public good, and small business support,” said Bishop Gray.

 Louisiana

Working with the Diocese of Louisiana’s Office of Disaster Response, ERD continues to build the local capacity of the diocese to respond to marginalized populations disproportionately affected by the disaster. ERD’s partnership is helping parishes respond to the unique needs of rural and urban communities in cities including New Orleans, Slidell, Theriot/Bayou du Large, Houma, Baton Rouge, and Bogalusa. ERD is expecting to reach 55,000 people in Louisiana.

Currently, Christ Church Cathedral in New Orleans serves as a distribution center for supplies. A water unit at the cathedral is one of the only sites providing clean, purified drinking water for the surrounding neighborhood. The cathedral is also a rest area for recovery workers, supplying them with food and potable water. Three additional parishes in New Orleans—St. Andrews Church, Holy Comforter Church, and Trinity Church—will offer additional supplies and psychosocial care. These churches will also provide medical services in partnership with local university medical centers as four hospitals remain closed. Together with CREDO and the Episcopal Church’s Office of the Bishop of Armed Forces, ERD will support spiritual counseling for clergy in affected areas.

ERD’s partnership will assist the diocese in funding the purchase of the Glimmer Inn. With more than 70% of housing in New Orleans destroyed by the hurricane, the inn will be a vital outlet serving people returning to the city as well as volunteers working to clean up devastated areas. The former bed and breakfast, located in the Garden District and adjacent to the cathedral, will be repurposed to serve as an urban ministry center.  It will offer a credit union, day care, and job training to people in need. The Office of Disaster Response will also be housed at the Glimmer Inn.

"After the September 11th tragedy, ERD worked with St. Paul’s Chapel, across from Ground Zero, offering healing and hope through an extraordinary volunteer relief effort. Similarly, the Glimmer Inn will serve as a beacon of hope to people affected by the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina,” said Robert W. Radtke, ERD President.

ERD’s partnership will also support a mobile case management unit which will access isolated coastal areas outside distribution and resource centers in areas such as Bayou du Large and Slidell. The unit will help people affected by the disaster obtain services and complete necessary paperwork with local,state, and federal agencies.

"The world-wide Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church in the United States have partnered with the Diocese of Louisiana through Episcopal Relief and Development to provide ministries of mercy, compassion, and hope for the people of New Orleans and southeast Louisiana,” said the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins, Bishop of Louisiana. “The generosity of our brothers and sisters in Christ is deeply appreciated and will enable us in the Diocese of Louisiana to be Christ's heart and hands to many who have lost so much.  I am deeply grateful to Episcopal Relief and Development for the great generosity and good work they have given unto us,” said Bishop Jenkins.

Similar to work in Mississippi, ERD will provide medical services, training in psychosocial services, and build links with credit and community services in Louisiana. ERD will also continue community-based assessments in both states and develop a resource database to link people affected by the hurricane with appropriate services. To expand the work, ERD will also establish partnerships with at least three African Methodist Episcopal and Baptist churches. 

"The expansion of ERD’s diocesan partnerships will further benefit communities most affected by Hurricane Katrina. In working together, we will exemplify the Church’s commitment and compassion to helping people rebuild their lives,” said Radtke.

For more information about our recovery efforts, please visit the Hurricane Center at http://www.er-d.org/.