Disaster Response United States Project #53824

SBP Hurricane Ida Response

Project Report | Jul 18, 2022
SBP Hurricane Ida Response

By Brittany Evans | National Grants Manager

SBP continues to lead Hurricane Ida long-term recovery efforts throughout southeast Louisiana. Thanks to you, SBP responded immediately by providing critical mucking and gutting services to 321 families across Terrebonne Parish, effectively laying the groundwork for long-term recovery. Additionally, your support allowed SBP to leverage additional funding to support its long-term recovery program. Since transitioning to home rebuilding in November 2021, SBP has rebuilt a total of 41 homes, 23 of which were built to FORTIFIED standards.

FORTIFIED has been a critical tool in SBP’s Hurricane Ida long-term recovery work, as it positions families and communities to be more resilient in the face of future disasters. By building homes to FORTIFIED standards, post-disaster claims can be reduced by up to 50%, homeowners may receive more competitive insurance premiums (depending on insurer), and housing is better preserved for vulnerable homeowners.

Finally, we’re excited to report that SBP has officially exceeded its FEMA appeals goal of $500,000 in Southeast Louisiana for Hurricane Ida survivors, with over $600,000 secured to date. On average, SBP clients see a 63% increase in their total FEMA award, which helps to bridge the expense of rising construction costs. We are so thrilled about the momentum of this program and grateful for your contribution, which allowed SBP to focus critical resources on expanding its FEMA appeals work to support as many low-income Ida survivors as possible.

SBP provided homeowners like Ms. Nina with a prompt and predictable recovery. Ms. Nina is a 70-year-old widow who has lived in her home on King Street in Terrebonne Parish for about a decade. Her home, however, isn’t just any home: it’s where her late husband of 30 years, who passed away in 2020, was born and raised. Ms. Nina works part time with a senior program in Houma to make ends meet, but the little savings she had was not enough to begin making repairs after Ida tore her home’s roof off, causing water intrusion and mold growth. With nowhere else to turn, Ms. Nina began to worry that her home would never be the same.

Thanks to you, SBP’s team quickly got to work on Ms. Nina’s home after learning of her story, mucking and gutting nearly the entire home and remediating for mold. SBP was also able to leverage additional funding to provide Ms. Nina with a new, FORTIFIED roof, as well as new drywall and window casings. Now, Ms. Nina can rest assured knowing her husband’s childhood home will be protected for years to come.

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Apr 1, 2022
SBP Hurricane Ida Response

By Brittany Evans | National Grants Manager

Dec 15, 2021
SBP Hurricane Ida Response

By Brittany Evans | National Grants Manager

Now more than ever, home is an essential and lifesaving component of the human experience. After Hurricane Ida tore through Louisiana on the 16th anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, your support allowed SBP to immediately deploy its Disaster Corps to provide direct relief to hard hit communities in New Orleans. Thanks to you, SBP successfully led post-Ida response efforts, including providing water, PPE and other critical supplies to hundreds of survivors, and completing over 300 immediate recovery projects. Additionally, you helped SBP begin laying the critical groundwork for its long-term recovery and post-disaster rebuilding work, which is set to return 85 families to the safety and security of their homes by the end of 2022.

SBP knows that, in the face of increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather events, time and predictability matter. With your investment, 321 families have been served through SBP’s Initial response to Hurricane Ida in Southeast Louisiana to date. Through the end of the year, SBP will continue with immediate work like muck/gut and mold remediation, and will complete post-Ida home rebuilding for 7 families. Additionally, your commitment to the prompt recovery of Ida-impacted families allowed SBP’s team to strengthen communities via post-disaster webinars. To date, these webinars have reached 508 disaster-impacted individuals, speeding their recovery and supporting their future resilience.

Your support helped people like Chester, a retired veteran. During Hurricane Ida, 78-year-old Chester pushed against his patio door in Houma, Louisiana, praying for it to stay in place against the 150 mph winds on the other side. “This was worse than the war,” he says. “When [Hurricane Ida] was over, I was just glad to be alive.” That’s a lot coming from an Air Force veteran who served several tours in Vietnam. Because his street was cut off from the main roads by a series of downed power lines and trees, neighbors were the only connections available in the first few days after Ida. Those with multiple generators washed clothes and shared food. Like hundreds of other neighborhoods and communities in southeast Louisiana, people have supported each other with what they have. Thanks to your support and commitment to speeding recovery for Ida-impacted families, SBP was able to quickly activate teams to muck and gut Chester’s home and remediate for mold. We are so grateful.

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