Tri-City area gets behind hurricane relief efforts

Various relief efforts in St. Mary Parish, whether through school, church or community organizations, are helping those in southwest Louisiana communities as they recover from damage inflicted by Hurricane Laura last month.
Scrolling through Facebook, it’s not hard to find some type of relief effort being done or completed to help those in need in southwest Louisiana.
More is coming, too, as the Crossing Place Church in Patterson is sending two groups of volunteers Saturday — one to provide food to affected families via Convoy of Hope’s distribution center and another to help with demolition work and clean-up of Celebration Worship Center in Sulphur and the community.
Also, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 12182 and Auxiliary, who fed and provided supplies to those displaced in Abbeville hotels, will be making a return trip, too.
Auxiliary President Claudia Boudreaux said she learned of the need for help in Abbeville via social media.
On Monday, she said they fed about 100 people and had a trailer of supplies for them to collect items as needed.
She said the group will return next week on a yet-to-be-determined day to provide an evening meal, noting that during the day, people had gone to their damaged homes or utility workers were making repairs.
“Next week when we do the evening meal, there should be more people,” she said.
As for the Crossing Place work, anyone is invited to help, regardless of whether they are a church member. Those interested in attending the all-day event should text “serve” to 337-243-6005, and they will be able to complete an application. More information will be provided to them Thursday afternoon.
The group also is looking for donations of the following: water, gas and gas cans as well as tarps to cover exposed areas in buildings and homes. Monetary donations also will be accepted to be given where donors wish or to purchase more of the above items.
School relief efforts have taken place such as Berwick High School’s volleyball team, which has adopted Sam Houston High School in Moss Bluff, while Central Catholic High School’s football team has adopted Vinton.
Berwick High School Volleyball Coach Lianne Seumanu said she felt her team needed to help out in southwest Louisiana however they could, so she contacted Danielle Clayton Courtney, a Patterson High alum who works in the education system in the Lake Charles area. Courtney connected Seumanu with Sam Houston High School volleyball coach Rene Tholen Fontenot, a Berwick High alum who Courtney used to work with, and Berwick adopted Sam Houston High School.
Meanwhile, Central Catholic and Vinton are scheduled to open the football season on Oct. 8. Vinton, is coached by Lark Hebert, who Central Catholic Coach Tommy Minton has known for years. Minton said the southwest Louisiana community was one that was struggling to get supplies in the aftermath of Laura.
Mother Nature prevented the schools from playing a year ago as the effects from the weather system Imelda flooded the area.
Boy Scouts from Troop 41 in Patterson and Troop 49 in Morgan City and Cub Scouts from Pack 438 in Morgan City and Pack 242 in Patterson also made a trip to Lake Charles where they fed about 800 people and provided supplies to first responders. They were assisted by numerous local companies and individuals, according to a Facebook post by Troop 41 Scoutmaster Jeremy Price.
The work in southwest Louisiana is not limited to volunteer groups providing relief efforts or supplies, either.
Four St. Mary Parish Sheriff’s Office employees, Deputy Dylan Toups, Sgt. Chad Wilson, Lt. 1st Class Dustin Kennedy and Capt. Jeremy Green, volunteered and were sent to the area to help with law enforcement in these areas and help those affected by Hurricane Laura.
“Sometimes people, especially those not close to harm’s way, don’t realize the impact a storm like this can have in a community,” St. Mary Parish Sheriff Blaise Smith said. “Having been there, we know and understand how important it is to help, aid and assist.
“We had no problems getting volunteers and hope our assistance brings some relief to this devastating situation.”
It’s certainly a situation that isn’t lost on Boudreaux how lucky the Tri-City area is.
“We were blessed that it didn’t come our way,” she said. “We might not be so blessed the next time.”
But instead of recovering, the local groups are doing what they can to help out.