Sen. Cassidy hosts Rural Community Funding Summit, visits post-hurricane repaired home

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - Senator Bill Cassidy was in Southwest Louisiana to host the Rural Community Funding Summit and to make a visit to a house being repaired after Hurricane Laura.

92-year-old Lucille Hebert is rejoicing as her home is coming back together after being displaced since Hurricane Laura.

7News first met Hebert back in March and now her home is nearly ready for her to move back in.

“I just thank the lord I said ‘please help me’ when I first started hearing about this I said ‘please lord have me on the list help me’,“ Hebert said in March.

Federal funding applied directly to communities, it’s what Sen. Cassidy is promoting discussing hurricane recovery and rural infrastructure in Southwest Louisiana.

He told KPLC the Rural Community Funding Summit is intended to allow local leaders in rural communities to connect with the resources needed to address their needs and problems.

“We’re just trying to make that connection,” he said. “Not that just the money is there. Not just that you need it, but this is who you call.”

Booths were set up in the Lake Charles Civic Center for the summit with representatives from different agencies for local officials to discuss how they can take advantage of money from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“The recovery after Laura and Delta was recovery,” Cassidy said. “What the bipartisan infrastructure does is more than getting us back to baseline. It brings us further along.”

While in town, Cassidy got the chance to see how some federal dollars were directly applied to the community in Lake Charles.

“Was able to show him some of the progress and still some of the progress that is still needed,” Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter said. “It’s important. it’s important that our congressional delegation get out of D.C. and come back home and see things on the streets and Sen. Cassidy was very excited to do that.”

Lake Charles Mayor Nic Hunter accompanied Cassidy to meet with Hebert and see her home that is benefiting from the Hurricane Rehabilitation Recovery Program.

The priority for the program has been to get people back in their homes who were displaced from the hurricanes.

Hebert will be back in her home in just a few weeks.

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