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Help Southwest Louisiana Now Campaign Launched In an Effort to get Federal Disaster Relief Funding

Published July 27, 2021

Southwest Louisiana Community leaders held a press conference on July 27, 2021, to announce the launch of the Help Southwest Louisiana Now campaign to discuss getting federal disaster relief funding for the area.

In the 11 months between August 27, 2020, and July 27, 2021, Southwest Louisiana was hit by more federally declared natural disasters than any other area in American history, all during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• August 27, 2020 – Hurricane Laura
• October 9, 2020 – Hurricane Delta 
• February 15, 2021 – Winter Storm Uri 
• May 17, 2021 – 1,000 Year Flood Event

This grassroots effort, launched on the 11 month anniversary of Hurricane Laura, represents a unified, collective regional effort to advocate for much-needed federal supplemental disaster relief funding.

Supplemental disaster recovery funding, formally called CDBG-DR, is the customary response communities have received from the federal government after being impacted by major natural disasters. This funding has always been awarded in a much shorter time period. By comparison, Washington DC acted 10 days after Hurricane Katrina, 34 days after Hurricane Andrew, and 98 days after Superstorm Sandy. To date, nearly a year after Hurricane Laura, the federal government has provided no supplemental disaster recovery funding for Southwest Louisiana.

For more information, to view the campaign elements or sign and submit a letter of support, visit www.rebuildingswla.com. 

Follow this link for more information from the press conference.