Continued Hurricane Harvey recovery aided by Catholic Charities grant

Corpus Christi, Texas, Aug 29, 2018 / 12:46 pm

Hurricane Harvey victims still need recovery assistance one year later, and Corpus Christi Catholic Charities aims to continue its services thanks to a $1 million grant.

"Catholic Charities understands that without assistance survivors can sink into a spiral of non-recovery, especially vulnerable populations," Kevin Branson, executive director of Corpus Christi Catholic Charities, said Aug. 27. "We need to walk with them throughout the recovery journey."

Thousands of families still need assistance.

The storm dropped about 27 trillion gallons of water in Texas and Louisiana in August 2017. More than 12,000 homes were completely destroyed and 200,000 were damaged. Nearly 500,000 vehicles were ruined and many business buildings were damaged as well, the Catholic Charities affiliate said.

An estimated 738,000 people have requested assistance through the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

Catholic Charities USA awarded the long-term recovery grant of just over $1 million. The grant comes from funds through the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' second collection.

Yiyi Dean, the grant writer and administrator for Catholic Charities of Corpus Christi, said the grant could help hurricane victims address multiple needs.

"We will only see clients by appointment and go through the person or family's situation on a case-by-case system," Dean told the Corpus Christi Caller Times. "But it can be for something like crisis therapy, helping young adults go to school or home reconstruction."

The Catholic Charities affiliate serves 12 counties in Texas' Coastal Bend area. Other services include emergency aid, family and individual counseling, housing counseling, immigration services, disability services, and rural outreach.

The affiliate is a member of Catholic Charities USA, the official domestic disaster relief agency of the U.S. bishops, which itself is a member of Caritas Internationalis, the Catholic Church's international confederation of human development and disaster relief agencies.