Thrive Pivots to Serve New Orleans During Hurricane Ida: 700+ Neighbors Supplied

Chuck Morse, Thrive’s Executive Director, shares the following message after reflecting on Thrive’s Hurricane Ida direct relief work and what it means to serve the city of New Orleans:

To truly serve people in our city’s unpredictable environment, we must adapt to their needs.   

While year-round, we work under the mantra “from surviving to thriving,” we recognize that survival is the foundation from which people can begin to thrive. Hurricane Ida created barriers to survival for many in our community. In response, we repurposed our strong network and dedicated staff to fill in the gaps.

Our extended family of partners from across the South brought us literal truckloads of supplies: from non-perishable food to repair materials for mending leaks and damage. Together, we transformed Thrive 9th Ward’s community center into a resource hub. We were able to both go deep with how we serve individuals and also wide across the greater community; we equipped 750 total neighbors with exactly what they needed to restore their homes and lives after the storm.

Our programming is built around genuinely caring for the people of this city, which means that our model adaptable to whatever barriers they face.
Throughout this stressful time, our experts at LaunchNOLA have been guiding local business owners of New Orleans through complicated disaster assistance applications to help them get back on their feet. In the long-term, to better prepare for future natural disasters,  we are seeking both forward-thinking business owners who we will train to become leaders in the Green Infrastructure industry and dedicated workers who we can equip with niche stormwater management installation skills necessary for them to reconstruct their careers and the city. We are continuing to lay the (permeable) pathway for our city’s future.

After weeks on-the-ground, I am looking forward to seeing what can grow from the foundation we have worked to restore.

Read more stories about people we serve across New Orleans: