Oil Spill Response
Posted by admin in Uncategorized, tags: case management, donations, emergency response, help for fisherman, louisiana fishermen, oil spill, oil spill relief, plaquemines parish
Since May 1, more than 7,800 individuals have received emergency assistance from the local Catholic Church through Catholic Charities. By the numbers, through June 7, 2010:
- 7,803 people (2,369 families) have received emergency assistance from Catholic Charities;
- $140,600 in gift cards and/or food vouchers have been distributed to affected families;
- 952 emergency food boxes from Second Harvest Food Bank have been distributed;
- 177 cans of baby formula have been distributed along with 77 boxes of diapers and 186 ½ packs of diapers;
- 902 people have undergone mental health assessments; and
- 737 people have received individual counseling and 58 have taken part in group counseling with Catholic Charities crisis counselors.
Those wanting to help, can make donations directly to Catholic Charities at www.ccano.org.
At our emergency distribution centers, families can receive food vouchers to local grocery stores, case management services, crisis counseling and other emergency supplies.
There are now five emergency sites serving the affected areas:
- St. Bernard Catholic Church in St. Bernard,
- St. Thomas in Point-a-la-Hache,
- St. Patrick in Port Sulphur,
- Mary, Queen of Vietnam in NO East, and
- St. Anthony in Lafitte.
- We are exploring the growing and changing needs and may be establishing other sites soon.
In order to serve the affected communities we have partnered with Second Harvest Food Bank, the local governments and state agencies (Dept of Social Services and Health and Hospitals) and other local nonprofits such as United Way. We are also very grateful to BP for its $1 million gift that has enabled us to expand our services.
