FEMA Donates Furniture To First Nonprofit Agency On Jan. 3

NEW ORLEANS - The Federal Emergency Management Agency's Louisiana Recovery Office will donate furniture to the first of seven nonprofits, Calcasieu Unmet Needs Committee, on Monday, Jan. 3, 2010, at 8 a.m. at FEMA's Sherwood Staging facility in Baton Rouge.

The Calcasieu Unmet Needs Committee and the other six nonprofit agencies - all affiliated with the Louisiana Voluntary Organizations Active in Disasters - will use the furniture donations in their continued disaster work. FEMA logistics staff will be on hand to assist the agencies with the pick-ups, which will continue throughout the next two weeks.

FEMA's backup inventory of bedroom, living room and kitchen furniture was previously used as replacement items for temporary housing units (travel trailers, mobile homes and park models) and was stored at the Sherwood Staging facility. No longer needing the furniture for their current individual assistance efforts, FEMA offered the property through Louisiana VOAD agencies.

In addition to the Calcasieu Unmet Needs Committee, other nonprofit recipients of donated furniture include the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership, the Terrebonne Readiness and Assistance Coalition, the Islamic Circle of North America, New Beginning Outreach Ministry, Guide Post Ministries and Delinquent Alternative Ministries.

"Since Katrina, our office's Voluntary Agency Liaisons have developed great working relationships with nonprofit agencies throughout the state," said FEMA's Louisiana Recovery Office Acting Executive Director Joe Threat. "We share a common goal of helping disaster survivors rebuild their lives, and this furniture donation initiative is just one more way we can jointly carry out this very important mission."

Under FEMA's Individual Assistance Program, approximately 92,000 temporary housing units were provided to eligible Louisiana households displaced by hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Currently, there are only 520 households still living in FEMA-provided temporary housing units throughout the state, and efforts to help them find more permanent housing solutions remain underway.

LRO staff worked closely with the Louisiana VOAD and their affiliates to determine the furniture donation needs of qualifying nonprofit agencies and to match those needs with available furniture items. The nonprofits will then be able to ensure that local disaster survivors can continue to utilize the excess furniture.

To date, FEMA has provided approximately $5.8 billion in individual assistance funding to help Katrina and Rita disaster survivors.

Filed Under: FEMA, Hurricane Katrina

Categories: State News