When First Baptist Church of Ridgeland opened its doors to Hurricane Gustav evacuees, some of the same people who fled Hurricane Katrina showed up.
“It’s kind of been like a family reunion,” said ministry assistant Jessica Heath. “We have some people staying with us and some stopped by to say hello.”
Hailed as the first responders to the 2005 storm, many churches and faith-based groups found they were even more prepared to help people affected by Gustav. And like they did during Katrina’s aftermath, the seasoned religious groups are quickly mobilizing to help restore normalcy to the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
“We’ll make sure they’re taken care of when they get home,” said Heath, whose church is preparing care packages for the 180 people it’s been housing since Hurricane Gustav struck.