Rebuilding Together: Acadiana homes nearly recovered from 2016 flooding

Jul. 24--Jodee Ware's got a lone file to complete, the last home -- it's a three-bed, two bath brick house on a slab foundation -- to be repaired from the devastation of the 2016 flood in Acadiana.

Ware, executive director of Rebuilding Together, which has overseen much of the rebuilding of some 500 homes damaged in Acadiana in flooding that followed 20 inches of rain, said that last home -- it's in Breaux Bridge -- is something like the hundreds of others that have been fixed in Acadiana over the last four years. It had roof damage, water in the back of the home, and needed work on flooring, walls and plumbing.

"This client has shown the patience of a saint," Ware said Friday. "She has been kind. Every time we have called to say, 'We're going to get to you,' she has been kind. I'm glad it's finally her turn."

Rebuilding Together has worked in the role of contractor with a host of local organizations -- many are church related -- since 2016 to accomplish what no one else could. The organization helped people who were under insured -- much of the flooding was outside designated flood zones -- and otherwise unable to fully help themselves to recover, to reclaim their homes. Rebuilding Together was part of a national network but in Acadiana, after working closely with Catholic Charities of Acadiana, it slipped under the Catholic Charities umbrella a year ago to become more efficient and effective.

To rebuild in Acadiana, though, Rebuilding Together, Catholic Charities and thousands of volunteers -- some local, some from distant states -- have depended upon not only Catholic organizations but myriad other church and social groups: Methodists, Presbyterians, Baptists, Lutherans, Habitat for Humanity, Mennonites, the Salvation Army and non-denominational churches among them.

It took money, too, about $3 million, according to Catholic Charities of Acadiana, which raised much of it.

Margaret Trahan, former president and CEO of United Way of Acadiana and now director of stewardship for the Catholic Diocese of Lafayette, referred to Catholic Charities as "the last man standing" in the four-year effort to rebuild from the devastating floods. That makes sense; about 52 percent of Acadiana people identify with the Catholic Church, so many of the resources to help were generated there.

"We knew it would take several years," she said of repairs to homes around Acadiana, including in places like Derby Heights, Breaux Bridge, Jeanerette, south Lafayette and other, isolated affected areas. Catholic Charities, which does disaster recovery work for the diocese, remained steadfast in tending to the needs of people who couldn't recover alone.

"I don't think people know how long it takes to recover," she said. "It takes a while to get a sense of the disaster. People have damage in the interior of their homes and you do the triage: Walls and floors are torn up. You make the home safe and dry."

There are preliminary steps, which involves tearing out sheet rock. It's easier to gut a house, Trahan said; it takes longer to repair it.

Melinda Taylor, executive director of Habitat for Humanity, said VOAD -- Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster -- which she has chaired locally, helped organize. Volunteers worked down a list of homes -- United Way helped organize the list -- and early in the effort, it was difficult to keep up with who was doing what. Work needed to be done -- fast -- and people responded.

The flood affected many neighborhoods that were outside flood zones, she said, so many people didn't have flood insurance. It also arrived during an economic downturn; Acadiana's oil-and-gas dependent economy had suffered from declining energy prices.

But volunteers and agencies largely filled the gap between disaster and recovery for people in need. VOAD member agencies took specific roles: For example, United Way was able to secure materials at low cost and find storage space. Rebuilding Together acted as contractors and worked the list, prioritizing repair projects based on available resources and dire need. Criteria could shift, depending on what suited the speed and efficiency of recovery.

Ben Broussard, spokesman for Catholic Charities, said it is usual in disasters for many groups to show up early and for short duration. But many of the out-of-town groups run low on money or, in short order, must answer calls of disaster elsewhere.

Organizations like Catholic Charities, he said, have access to more grant money and more staying power. The church can also call upon elite emergency responders, like the Order of Malta, an ancient, international Catholic organization. The order's chapters respond to disasters and serve the poor and disabled, which the order has done since the First Crusades.

Paul David said the smallest chapter of the Order of Malta is in Lafayette -- 16 members. But the group, responding to Rebuilding Together's direction, worked on 13 houses over the past four years, most recently for a week in February, drawing support from other Order of Malta chapters around the country. In February, the group worked at three houses in Jeanerette, fulfilling a request by Most Rev. Douglas Deshotel, bishop of Lafayette, to serve those living in remote areas of the diocese.

"It's extremely gratifying work," David said. "It's not just check-writing; you get your hands dirty and work with people."

Volunteers come with a variety of skills; each week worked involves about 300 man hours per day.

"We are done here with the flood rebuilding," David said. But the group will continue with a presence here after the novel coronavirus lifts.

"There is no shortage of housing to be rebuilt here," he said.

Ware, how has worked for Rebuilding Together effort here since 2002, said her group has worked myriad disasters and floods, including Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The flooding of 2016 posed different challenges because of how it happened and because of the widespread damage. But the duration of the recovery -- four years -- was not surprising

David said the Order of Malta worked post-Katrina recovery from 2005 until 2016 -- 11 years -- in time to start working on flood recovery in Acadiana.

But the impact of the flooding was substantial, and completing the list -- the last house should be repaired in three weeks -- is satisfying.

"It's hard to think it took this long to get people recovered," she said. "But it is an amazing feeling to know you completed something of this magnitude."

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