Parishes Have Customized Community Recovery Resource Guide Available Online

BATON ROUGE, La. – Louisianians understand all too well the importance of building communities that can withstand what Mother Nature hurls at them.

As communities throughout the state plan for their future needs, they have a new way to find recovery resources. The National Disaster Recovery Support team has developed a Community Recovery Resource Guide containing Louisiana-specific information to help parishes locate funding sources and other available resources for local projects and initiatives.

“It’s basically a toolkit to help communities understand what’s out there right now,” said Federal Disaster Recovery Coordinator Wayne Rickard. “Whether they’re rebuilding from a disaster or just doing normal planning, any community can use this.”

The searchable guide profiles nearly 900 recovery assistance programs through which communities can seek funding possibilities. It also includes grant writing guidance, planning manuals, case studies and examples of how governments can create recovery-related staff positions. It is accessible in two clickable online documents on FEMA’s Hurricane Isaac-specific web page at http://www.fema.gov/disaster/4080/.

The first is available at http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=7260. This resource page contains a link to the guide and one to a version that’s accessible for people with disabilities. The second, http://www.fema.gov/library/viewRecord.do?id=7261, contains a link to an interactive version of the guide in which people can search for keywords and other terms.

The guide is also available through the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness’s online portal at http://gohsep.la.gov/disasrecovGovernment.aspx.

“A collection like this enables us to move ahead much more efficiently as we plan recovery strategies for future disasters,” said State Recovery Coordinating Officer Mark Riley. “Smaller groups often need some technical assistance to get a program organized and implemented, and these guides can help Louisiana communities find the help they need.”

Program profiles are identified by sector, which include agriculture and environment, economic and workforce development, education, floodplain management, historic and cultural resources, housing and community development, human services and public health, infrastructure and transportation, and public safety. These are divided into several parts, including:

• Resource Identification Aids, which include state and federal publications, spreadsheets or directories identifying funding possibilities from state and local governments, regional and national foundations, and other groups;

• Job Descriptions and Aids, which may help local governments by providing examples for creating recovery-related staff positions;

• Case Studies and Mitigation Planning Publications; and

• Miscellaneous resources such as Internal Revenue Service Disaster Loss Kits, a grant writing guide, planning manuals and community mapping project information.

More information on Louisiana disaster recovery is available online at www.fema.gov/disaster/4080 or www.gohsep.la.gov. FEMA is also on Twitter at twitter.com/femaregion6 and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FEMA.