Pointe Aux Chenes community still seeing little relief

NEW ORLEANS (WVUE) - The situation with power and water is improving in a lot of places in Terrebonne, but it’s proving to be a lot more difficult in the Southern parts of the Parish.

From Bourg to Chauvin, the devastation is immense and recovery isn’t looking like it will happen anytime soon.

Pointe Aux Chenes is caught in between two parishes, Lafourche and Terrebonne. Help has been sparse but they really need a lot.

“We are the forgotten people and we feel that way,” Theresa Dardar said.

Dardar says it was her husband and other tribal members that cleared most of the roads without help from Parish crews.

“We are living like our ancestors did and thank God we know how to live like they lived,” Dardar said.

No power, no water, very little reprieve. You can count the homes that are still livable on both hands.

“It’s so heartbreaking. I have my moments that I can’t stop crying,” Dardar said as tears began to run. “But… thank God, nobody was killed.”

According to Terrebonne EOC, Southern Terrebonne is proving challenging to serve right now, but they are working hard to fix breaks in water lines and push resources out.

In the meantime, people and NGO’s like the Footprint Project are responding to the call.

Thursday, the Footprint Project hooked up a solar power generator to the Tribal building, so it can serve as a hub not only for all the supplies people have been donating but also a place to cool off and charge phones.

“I thank God for all these people and I thank them from the bottom of my heart,” Dardar said.

For many, it’s been long days of hard work to turn their lives back right-side up.

68-year-old, third-generation shrimper, Joe Billiot and his son Leo are trying to salvage the family business after flipping their boat from off of it’s side.

“We got to do it, you know, ain’t gonna sit in the corner and cry, I mean, sometimes that’s what you want to do, it ain’t going to fix nothing,” Billiot said.

Although spirits may be tried, Pointe Aux Chenes is hanging on, although time seems to have stopped.

“Our immediate needs are pretty much covered, but we need homes,” Dardar stressed.

Dardar says no one from FEMA has come out to help register the tribe.

“I’d like to see all our community people come back,” Dardar said.

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