October 25, 2007
By Matt Hackworth

NEW ORLEANS – It seemed almost a Herculean feat, to bring together disparate communities in a city long on individualism and eccentricity.

As the French say, Il n'y a que les montagnes qui ne se rencontrent jamais. (There are none so distant that fate cannot bring together.)

"New Orleans never really worked together," said Kim Durow, director of the Greater New Orleans Disaster Recovery Partnership, or GNODRP. "This is really new."

Plans for recovery from Hurricane Katrina's immense damage brought together faith-based and community groups from parishes that, prior to the storm, rarely intersected. Now, workers from across the New Orleans area sit around a table with a common mission: ensuring long-term recovery from the worst disaster in U.S. history.

GNODRP is a CWS-supported umbrella agency (complete with an umbrella in its official logo) representing nine long-term recovery groups and 70 agencies.

It is a roundtable, where unmet needs may be addressed. It's a network where a spare pallet of paint in St. Bernard Parish finds the need for paint in Plaquemines Parish. It's where information on the latest crop of volunteer laborers may be found, and word about the need for help can be spread.

For example, when case manager Ron Simmons needed supplies for home repairs for a client, he brought the need to GNODRP. His counterparts in other parishes provided leads to get what was needed.

"We've gotten paint from GNODRP, we've gotten appliances from GNODRP," Simmons said. "They're teaching us how to write grants. Because we're new, we need the support."

The United Way of Greater New Orleans provides in-kind and administrative support for GNODRP, which maintains a staff of three. Durow said bringing together nine long-term recovery groups to network in a single agency provides a strength-in-numbers benefit to long-term recovery.

"I think we have a much better prospect of securing regional dollars if we work together," Durow said. "There are also resources and equipment we could share regionally."

Even though GNODRP is barely into a recovery process estimated to take as long as 15 years, the agency is already planning for disasters that may be ahead. For example, GNODRP worked with the Federal Emergency Management Agency to establish what resources voluntary agencies could commit in the event a flu pandemic struck New Orleans.

"More than 400 agencies wanted to work with FEMA in the event of an emergency," Durow said. "We want to be the agency FEMA turns to for voluntary help in New Orleans."

As GNODRP evolves into a long-term, sustainable agency, Durow sees the biggest challenge not in preparing for a disaster but in planning for the future.

"Fund raising is critical at this moment," Durow said. Some people say, it's two years out, how can you move this slow? But the reality is compared to other disasters we're doing very well."

Church World Service
Matt Hackworth is a communications officer for Church World Service.