The Society of Vincent de Paul seems a natural path for members of the Vincentian Family who wish to aid flood victims. Please take time to read this communication from Gary Stevens about the needs and how the Society is already on the ground assisting.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Responding to Multiple Disasters

A substantial portion of the country spent part of its holiday season under water or fighting against the wind.  Even now, the resulting waters are moving downstream to new communities, threatening levees and entire communities with historic flooding.

The first part of January has been extremely busy. SVdP regional disaster chairs, local Councils and/or the Disaster Services team are supporting disaster recovery efforts in the following states:

1. Alabama – tornado recovery for the recent tornadoes
2. Illinois – numerous locations for flood recovery and MARCs (Multi-Agency Resource Centers)
3. North Texas – tornado recovery for the four impacted counties in north Texas
4. Northeast Miss. and Memphis, Tenn. – flood recovery for the recent flooding
5. Northern Calif. – the setup of House in a Box^® in Lake County, Calif. months of doing intake work at the local Disaster Recovery Centers in Lake and Calaveras Counties after the wildfires
6. Nebraska – long term disaster case management for last spring’s floods
7. Northeast, Okla. – ongoing tornado recovery
8. South Carolina – disaster case management for the entire state and House in a Box^® in two locations for the epic fall floods (97,000 families are registered with FEMA)
9. Texas – numerous locations in the state for the House in a Box^® program from the spring floods and tornadoes
10. St. Louis, Mo. – support of flood recovery survivors through the local (MARCs) for the devastating winter floods

It’s only the beginning of January.  Disaster knows no calendar or season.  Fortunately, neither does our love for the poor.

To support SVdP relief efforts, please visit the SVdP National Council’s secure donation page and Donate Now.

Who lives in a floodplain? Sometimes it’s a farming community, where the nearby river is a source of life-bringing nourishment to the fields. Often though it is the poor, on properties no one else wants.  So when these properties get damaged or destroyed because of a natural disaster, these lower-income families might make the news for a day or two but, as so often it is for them, they are then forgotten. Resources from the government and first-responders may help but for only a few weeks, while displacement can last for weeks or months and be compounded by the loss of so many possessions and sometimes even employment.

The victims of disasters are not forgotten by the Vincentian Family.  That’s where we are called upon to step in and help.  This support includes finding new homes or making significant repairs to existing homes, all too often without insurance support.  It includes replacement of furniture and household goods that may have been swept away or damaged by water and mud beyond repair.  Some homes become instant hazmat sites depending on what flowed through them in the storm.  It can happen in mere moments but take months to recover.

To support SVdP relief efforts, please visit the SVdP National Council’s secure donation page and Donate Now.