Houma Letter 2021

70 West Family,

We have been in touch this week with two of our sister congregations in Houma, LA, which were in the heart of where Hurricane Ida came ashore last month. As you can imagine, their recovery is going to be a long road and they still have significant needs.

The Hollywood Rd congregation became one of the de-facto distribution centers for relief supplies for not only their members but the community as a whole and remains so. FEMA has come and gone as has the Church of Christ Disaster Relief organization. While they did a tremendous amount of work through the congregation in the community while they were there, that support is now gone and the congregation continues to be a central hub for the community in distributing much needed basic necessities.

For the community as a whole; most of their power has been restored, for the most part, homes are dry under tarp roofs, roads are open and most of the infrastructure is functional. The issue they have now is twofold: First, very few stores are opened back up and the ones that are open do not have day to day staples so day to day necessities are in very short supply and the community continues to depend on the congregations in the area to help out with these. The second primary need the congregations have, is financial. Due to the nature of insurance policies on the gulf coast, the congregation’s facilities are left with significant gaps between what insurance will compensate for hurricane damage and the real cost to get their facilities restored.

With all of this in mind and with your support, we would like to take on two initiatives:

1. This weekend we would like to collect as much from the list below as we can. If you would like to donate, while we are out this weekend doing our household shopping, pick up a few items and drop them in the MPB Sunday. We will also send out a couple of teams of shoppers to pick up bulk items. Monday, we will send a truck to Houma with these, immediate need supplies.
2. We will take up a special collection Sunday, 10/17 with the purpose of contributing to the congregations in Houma for their rebuilding efforts.

To make all of this happen in such a short time frame, we need the entire 70 West family to pitch in, first and foremost, with prayers that the efforts of the congregations in Houma will bear much spiritual fruit.

• We need a couple of volunteer drivers that can make an overnight trip to Houma with the supplies.
• We need a couple of volunteers that can go to Sam’s and pick up the bulk items (will need pickup trucks).

If you can volunteer for either of these activities, please contact the church office.

Critical items needed:

Baby supplies:

Formula

Diapers

Baby Food

Wipes

Everyday Personal Hygiene items:

Toiletries

Garbage Bags

Canned Food / Meats

Towels & Bedding

Laundry Soap

Bulk items needed:

Cleaning supplies:

Mops

Brooms

Pine-Sol

Spray Bleach Cleaners

Plastic Storage Bins

Paper Towels

Toilet Paper