Agency unites New Orleans for long-term recovery with CWS support
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By Matt Hackworth/CWS
NEW ORLEANS - It seemed almost a Herculean feat, to bring together disparate communities in a city long on individualism and eccentricity.
As the French say, Il n'y a que les montagnes qui ne se rencontrent jamais. (There are none so distant that fate cannot bring together.)
âNew Orleans never really worked together,â said Kim Durow, director of the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership, or GNODRP. âThis is really new.â
Plans for recovery from Hurricane Katrinaâs immense damage brought together faith-based and community groups from parishes that, prior to the storm, rarely intersected. Now, workers from across the New Orleans area sit around a table with a common mission: ensuring long-term recovery from the worst disaster in U.S. history.
GNODRP is a CWS-supported umbrella agency (complete with an umbrella in its official logo) representing nine long-term recovery groups and 70 agencies.
It is a roundtable, where unmet needs may be addressed. Itâs a network where a spare pallet of paint in St. Bernard Parish finds the need for paint in Plaquemines Parish. Itâs where information on the latest crop of volunteer laborers may be found, and word about the need for help can be spread.
For example, when case manager Ron Simmons needed supplies for home repairs for a client, he brought the need to GNODRP. His counterparts in other parishes provided leads to get what was needed.
âWeâve gotten paint from GNODRP, weâve gotten appliances from GNODRP,â Simmons said. âTheyâre teaching us how to write grants. Because weâre new, we need the support.â
The United Way of Greater New Orleans provides in-kind and administrative support for GNODRP, which maintains a staff of three. Durow said bringing together nine long-term recovery groups to network in a single agency provides a strength-in-numbers benefit to long-term recovery.
âI think we have a much better prospect of securing regional dollars if we work together,â Durow said. âThere are also resources and equipment we could share regionally.â
Even though GNODRP is barely into a recovery process estimated to take as long as 15 years, the agency is already planning for disasters that may be ahead. For example, GNODRP worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish what resources voluntary agencies could commit in the event a flu pandemic struck New Orleans.
âMore than 400 agencies wanted to work with FEMA in the event of an emergency,â Durow said. âWe want to be the agency FEMA turns to for voluntary help in New Orleans.â
As GNODRP evolves into a long-term, sustainable agency, Durow sees the biggest challenge not in preparing for a disaster but in planning for the future.
âFund raising is critical at this moment,â Durow said. Some people say, itâs two years out, how can you move this slow? But the reality is compared to other disasters weâre doing very well.â
Matt Hackworth is a communications officer for Church World Service.
Media Contacts
Lesley Crosson, (212) 870-2676, lcrosson@churchworldservice.org Jan Dragin - 24/7 - (781) 925-1526, jdragin@gis.net