Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.2theadvocate.com/features/19617214.html?showAll=y&c=y
Saturday, June 7, 2008
La. Catholics prepare for ?all hazards?
Disaster-response head prays his third hurricane season is quiet
* By CHUCK HUSTMYRE
* Special to The Advocate
* Published: Jun 7, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m
Greg Patin is preparing for a storm he prays won?t come.
For two years, Patin has been the statewide head of Catholic Charities? disaster response program, and for two years there have been no storms.
Sunday marked the start of Patin?s third hurricane season and although he?s hoping and praying for another quiet one, he?s prepared if the season turns ugly.
Catholic Charities connects disaster victims with a host of long-term resources, including counseling services, housing assistance, job training, financial aid, and transportation support.
?We are here to help people find resources, whether we?re providing them directly or we?re providing them through a partner agency,? Patin said.
One thing that Patin, who previously worked in disaster planning for the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, brought with him to Louisiana was a plan. Called the ?Church Parish Disaster Preparedness and Response Planning Manual,? Patin?s plan is a guidebook of detailed steps for each of Louisiana?s seven Catholic dioceses on how to handle disasters both large and small.
The guidebook covers disaster planning and evacuation procedures in the event of hurricanes, floods, tornados, fires, intruders, hostage situations, bomb threats and hazardous materials spills.
An appendix for dealing with pandemics such as bird flu is in the works, Patin said.
When Tropical Storm Allison hit Texas in 2001, Greg Patin was new to disaster relief. The storm dropped more than 36 inches of rain on Houston and killed 22 people. Damage reached $5 billion.
?I had a very steep learning curve,? Patin said.
What he learned was that a good disaster relief and recovery team was essential ? one whose members were used to working together and one that could mesh core components such as leadership, accounting, communications, logistics, volunteer management and fundraising.
?You definitely want (the team) to be in place before the disaster strikes,? Patin said.
Though hurricanes get the most media attention ? they have their own season and their own names, after all ? Patin takes what he calls an ?all hazards approach? to disaster planning, a concept reflected in the diversity of catastrophes addressed in the guidebook he helped author.
His advice to all of the state?s dioceses is to imagine the big and the small.
?Be aware of your community and think about all the different things that could happen,? he said. ?Don?t focus just on the weather or just on hurricanes.?
As an example of a ?small? disaster, Patin recalled an oil spill during the summer of 2006 in the waters near Lake Charles that left some oyster fisherman unable to ply their trade. Catholic Charities stepped in and provided short-term financial assistance until the spill was cleaned up.
?Catholic Charities recognizes that these smaller disasters are just as devastating to those impacted as the larger disasters are to the wider population,? Patin said.
Better than before
Although each Louisiana diocese has its own disaster plan and its own Catholic Charities organization tailored to its individual needs, the differences are slight.
?We all have the same mission ? to help those in need,? said Carol Spruell, communications coordinator for Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge.
Before Katrina, Catholic Charities specialized in long-range case management and normally didn?t get involved in disaster recovery until after the American Red Cross and FEMA were finished.
?After Katrina we couldn?t sit back,? Spruell said.
Patin described what he sees as the new mandate for Catholic Charities.
?Our role has evolved into what we?re calling an early responder role,? he said. ?We?re not a first responder. We don?t get in there and do search and rescue and pull people out of the water and the rubble.?
What Catholic Charities does, Patin said, is try to get in early and help those struck by disaster identify what they need to get back on their feet and to improve their situation.
?Because Katrina uncovered so much poverty, we don?t want to send our clients back to that poverty,? Patin said. ?We want to help them build a better life where they don?t have to be dependent on systems anymore, where they can take care of themselves, where they are self-sufficient.?
Coming home
Patin, 46, grew up in New Roads but moved out of state with his parents when he was 13.
After earning a master?s degree in clinical psychology, he worked in the social services field. Then in the mid-1990s he went to work for the Catholic Church in Houston and Galveston.
He likes motorcycles and playing bass guitar. While working in Houston, Patin played in several rock ?n? roll club bands. Though he still plays guitar in his church band at St. Patrick?s Catholic Church, Patin doesn?t ride anymore.
?I broke my neck 10 years ago in a motorcycle accident,? he said.
Patin was in a hurry and forgot to pull the kickstand up on his 1979 Honda Gold Wing. During a sweeping left-hand curve the kickstand jammed into the pavement. ?I was catapulted off the bike,? he said.
Two vertebrae in his neck are fused.
?From a motorcycle, that?s not typically the kind of thing you survive,? Patin said. ?God had something he needed me to do, but he needed me off the motorcycle to do it.?
Three decades after leaving Louisiana, Patin was thrilled when the state?s Catholic bishops selected him to fill the new position of disaster recovery czar. He was also excited at the opportunity to move back home, to a state still reeling from the one-two combination punch of Katrina and Rita. ?I can go help my people,? Patin said at the time. ?This is where I?m from.?
Raising the bar
Even without a unified disaster response plan, Louisiana?s Catholic Charities? outpouring of support for storm victims that began in 2005 and continues today has been massive.
New Orleans Catholic Charities delivered 150 million pounds of food and water, gutted 1,800 storm-ravaged houses and apartments, provided mental health services to 850,000 people, and formed a new housing concern with the goal of building 7,000 homes, according to Jim Kelly, co-president of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
The new plan, with Patin coordinating the effort, will make Catholic Charities? response to the next disaster even more effective and more efficient, Kelly said.
?I think we?re in a much better position for the next calamity,? he said. ?The Catholic Charities across the state can work together.?
The Rev. Than Vu, vicar general for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, said: ?Greg (Patin) has the experience and the expertise. He is able to provide the kind of resources that we didn?t have.?
Patin said the last two quiet hurricane seasons have given the state?s Catholic leaders the opportunity to refine their emergency plan.
?Each year we are getting better and better,? he said. ?We learn about new ways to be prepared or new planning strategies and put them in place.?
Still, another quiet season wouldn?t hurt. It?s something Patin said he?s praying for.
Catholic Charities coordinator Wendy Hellinger said she thinks Patin might be their lucky charm. ?He?s been here two years and we haven?t had a storm in two years,? she said. ?We?re going to keep him indefinitely.?
Saturday, June 7, 2008
La. Catholics prepare for ?all hazards?
Disaster-response head prays his third hurricane season is quiet
* By CHUCK HUSTMYRE
* Special to The Advocate
* Published: Jun 7, 2008 - UPDATED: 12:05 a.m
Greg Patin is preparing for a storm he prays won?t come.
For two years, Patin has been the statewide head of Catholic Charities? disaster response program, and for two years there have been no storms.
Sunday marked the start of Patin?s third hurricane season and although he?s hoping and praying for another quiet one, he?s prepared if the season turns ugly.
Catholic Charities connects disaster victims with a host of long-term resources, including counseling services, housing assistance, job training, financial aid, and transportation support.
?We are here to help people find resources, whether we?re providing them directly or we?re providing them through a partner agency,? Patin said.
One thing that Patin, who previously worked in disaster planning for the Catholic Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston, brought with him to Louisiana was a plan. Called the ?Church Parish Disaster Preparedness and Response Planning Manual,? Patin?s plan is a guidebook of detailed steps for each of Louisiana?s seven Catholic dioceses on how to handle disasters both large and small.
The guidebook covers disaster planning and evacuation procedures in the event of hurricanes, floods, tornados, fires, intruders, hostage situations, bomb threats and hazardous materials spills.
An appendix for dealing with pandemics such as bird flu is in the works, Patin said.
When Tropical Storm Allison hit Texas in 2001, Greg Patin was new to disaster relief. The storm dropped more than 36 inches of rain on Houston and killed 22 people. Damage reached $5 billion.
?I had a very steep learning curve,? Patin said.
What he learned was that a good disaster relief and recovery team was essential ? one whose members were used to working together and one that could mesh core components such as leadership, accounting, communications, logistics, volunteer management and fundraising.
?You definitely want (the team) to be in place before the disaster strikes,? Patin said.
Though hurricanes get the most media attention ? they have their own season and their own names, after all ? Patin takes what he calls an ?all hazards approach? to disaster planning, a concept reflected in the diversity of catastrophes addressed in the guidebook he helped author.
His advice to all of the state?s dioceses is to imagine the big and the small.
?Be aware of your community and think about all the different things that could happen,? he said. ?Don?t focus just on the weather or just on hurricanes.?
As an example of a ?small? disaster, Patin recalled an oil spill during the summer of 2006 in the waters near Lake Charles that left some oyster fisherman unable to ply their trade. Catholic Charities stepped in and provided short-term financial assistance until the spill was cleaned up.
?Catholic Charities recognizes that these smaller disasters are just as devastating to those impacted as the larger disasters are to the wider population,? Patin said.
Better than before
Although each Louisiana diocese has its own disaster plan and its own Catholic Charities organization tailored to its individual needs, the differences are slight.
?We all have the same mission ? to help those in need,? said Carol Spruell, communications coordinator for Catholic Charities of Baton Rouge.
Before Katrina, Catholic Charities specialized in long-range case management and normally didn?t get involved in disaster recovery until after the American Red Cross and FEMA were finished.
?After Katrina we couldn?t sit back,? Spruell said.
Patin described what he sees as the new mandate for Catholic Charities.
?Our role has evolved into what we?re calling an early responder role,? he said. ?We?re not a first responder. We don?t get in there and do search and rescue and pull people out of the water and the rubble.?
What Catholic Charities does, Patin said, is try to get in early and help those struck by disaster identify what they need to get back on their feet and to improve their situation.
?Because Katrina uncovered so much poverty, we don?t want to send our clients back to that poverty,? Patin said. ?We want to help them build a better life where they don?t have to be dependent on systems anymore, where they can take care of themselves, where they are self-sufficient.?
Coming home
Patin, 46, grew up in New Roads but moved out of state with his parents when he was 13.
After earning a master?s degree in clinical psychology, he worked in the social services field. Then in the mid-1990s he went to work for the Catholic Church in Houston and Galveston.
He likes motorcycles and playing bass guitar. While working in Houston, Patin played in several rock ?n? roll club bands. Though he still plays guitar in his church band at St. Patrick?s Catholic Church, Patin doesn?t ride anymore.
?I broke my neck 10 years ago in a motorcycle accident,? he said.
Patin was in a hurry and forgot to pull the kickstand up on his 1979 Honda Gold Wing. During a sweeping left-hand curve the kickstand jammed into the pavement. ?I was catapulted off the bike,? he said.
Two vertebrae in his neck are fused.
?From a motorcycle, that?s not typically the kind of thing you survive,? Patin said. ?God had something he needed me to do, but he needed me off the motorcycle to do it.?
Three decades after leaving Louisiana, Patin was thrilled when the state?s Catholic bishops selected him to fill the new position of disaster recovery czar. He was also excited at the opportunity to move back home, to a state still reeling from the one-two combination punch of Katrina and Rita. ?I can go help my people,? Patin said at the time. ?This is where I?m from.?
Raising the bar
Even without a unified disaster response plan, Louisiana?s Catholic Charities? outpouring of support for storm victims that began in 2005 and continues today has been massive.
New Orleans Catholic Charities delivered 150 million pounds of food and water, gutted 1,800 storm-ravaged houses and apartments, provided mental health services to 850,000 people, and formed a new housing concern with the goal of building 7,000 homes, according to Jim Kelly, co-president of Catholic Charities for the Archdiocese of New Orleans.
The new plan, with Patin coordinating the effort, will make Catholic Charities? response to the next disaster even more effective and more efficient, Kelly said.
?I think we?re in a much better position for the next calamity,? he said. ?The Catholic Charities across the state can work together.?
The Rev. Than Vu, vicar general for the Diocese of Baton Rouge, said: ?Greg (Patin) has the experience and the expertise. He is able to provide the kind of resources that we didn?t have.?
Patin said the last two quiet hurricane seasons have given the state?s Catholic leaders the opportunity to refine their emergency plan.
?Each year we are getting better and better,? he said. ?We learn about new ways to be prepared or new planning strategies and put them in place.?
Still, another quiet season wouldn?t hurt. It?s something Patin said he?s praying for.
Catholic Charities coordinator Wendy Hellinger said she thinks Patin might be their lucky charm. ?He?s been here two years and we haven?t had a storm in two years,? she said. ?We?re going to keep him indefinitely.?