Near Lake Charles, faith fills in for FEMA

 

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This is part of a series of stories that accompany our podcast, No Matter the Water. You can hear about ministry in disaster preparedness and recovery in Episode 2, “Reverend Harris.”

When Cindy Robertson bought her home in Sulphur’s Portie Town neighborhood, the first thing she did was put a box out front and stock it with free food for those in need. The box was the genesis of her organization Micah 6:8 Mission, a reference to a scriptural exhortation to “serve justice, love mercy, walk humbly.” 

After Hurricane Laura, her mission expanded.

“We all talk about, ‘it was before the storm.’ We know what storm we’re talking about. It was for Southwest Louisiana what Katrina was for New Orleans. Fifty percent of our buildings or homes were either lost or damaged,” she explains. A blue tarp is still on her neighbor’s roof.

Robertson began working for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Louisiana as a disaster coordinator, which is how she connected to the newly formed Disaster Justice Network (DJN). DJN is a volunteer network formed in response to the overwhelming need for recovery after the string of storms that walloped Southwest Louisiana in 2020 and 2021, including Hurricane Laura.

It began with grassroots weekly meetings of disaster response specialists, community organizers, faith leaders, researchers and academics working on recovery as a way to share resources and maximize impact.

They set up community water testing, air quality testing and small-house alternative housing, all after Laura.

“People who are in academia are beginning to realize that there’s a wealth of knowledge that is available from community organizers and community organizations and community members. We have knowledge, you know. We may be poor, but we’re not ignorant,” she says.

Her own ministry grew to include environmental justice, and used resources from the Disaster Justice Network to increase disaster recovery aid in the area. 

She also began connecting to communities outside of metropolitan Lake Charles. 

That’s how she met Rev. James Harrisof Evergreen Baptist Church in DeQuincy. Together, they set up a tool library, shared DJN pamphlets on technical disaster preparedness (think, taping roof seams, resilient rebuilding and mold removal), and connected the dots between his congregation’s resources and those in need in the area.

Working from the ground up, she found disaster victims who fell through the cracks of the federal disaster response system, often getting less aid.

For instance, many residents lack clear title to their inherited family homes. Without that documentation, they can’t qualify for FEMA aid. Roberston connected one such woman, who lived near Harris’ church in DeQuincy, with the minister’s team, who put on a new, more resilient roof — a repair she couldn’t otherwise afford.

“There are so many people in our communities that fall just below the income limits or don’t have this one piece of paper,” says Robertson. “Every time we have a climate disaster the least of the least have less and less. And that shouldn’t be. We should step up as church, as community, and help the least of the least.”

Roberston points to how incredibly well positioned churches are to lead us through the environmental challenges of our area. 

“Churches should be a place where people can come after a disaster. Every church should have a solar panel set up on its roofs so they can provide comfort, light, cooling, or heat,” she says. “Every denomination has a mission fund. There’s mission work right in your own backyard.”

Robertson’s food box is now surrounded by a garden for neighbors to harvest from. She also hosts regular meetings for community members and teens, so her community can withstand and recover from future environmental and economic challenges.

“And there’s still disaster work that needs to be done,” she says, looking at the blue tarp across the street.