Catholic Charities Recipient of Verizon Community Disaster Resilience Grant
Catholic Charities is committed to standing with communities in every season—during blue‑sky days, when the focus is on preparedness and long‑term resilience, and through gray‑sky periods, when storms are approaching, unfolding, or their immediate aftermath is felt. Collaboration is essential in all of this work, and in disaster response Catholic Charities is privileged to partner with local organizations, contractors, and government agencies. Additionally, collaboration includes important funding opportunities to keep the work moving.
In January, Director of Disaster Services, Daniel Altenau, received the wonderous news that Catholic Charities was a recipient of a 2025 Verizon Community Resilience grant, providing $75,000 to repair homes for families still recovering from Hurricane Florence and PTC8 (Post Tropical Cyclone 8).
Despite being different in their classification as well as the amount of media coverage received, PTC8 and Hurricane Florence have one thing in common: many of their survivors are overlooked and fighting every day to recover. According to Altenau, “Many families are still dealing with damage that affects their daily lives and safety, this includes things like flood-soaked floors, compromised roofs, and exteriors that allow rain to seep in and cause further damage.”
Construction Services Program Director Steven Turco will oversee this grant with the assistance of home repair specialist Jim Brewer. Vickie Sasser, disaster specialist, will provide disaster case management services to support the families involved with this repair effort. Based in the Catholic Charities Cape Fear office, this team will evaluate storm damage and, after working closely with the families affected, will assess the level of need to prioritize those most vulnerable in their recovery.
When asked what ‘success’ looks like in disaster recovery, Altenau reflected:
“Success is defined by the impact we have on each individual family. It is a smile on a child’s faces when they see that their home has been repaired. And it’s the feeling of relief their parents feel when they know they no longer need to worry about the impact of the damage on their children. Being with families as they see the repairs completed is the most rewarding part of this work.”
The theme of Catholic Charities disaster work is collaboration and resilience, and they are finding it everywhere they look. They have already partnered
with the North Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church, local contractors from their previous work in the Cape Fear region, and the Columbus County long term recovery group to coordinate assistance. Additionally, volunteers will be critical to the work getting completed! Altenau is expecting to 
leverage volunteer labor from 30-40 volunteers working in groups of 5-7 at a time to get this work completed this summer. Anyone who is interested in joining this effort is encouraged to learn more by clicking here.