Relief Effort Brings Hope, Supplies To Yalobusha County After Fern
Josh Gill with the United Cajun Navy is pictured with Libby Kuchta, a volunteer liaison working with the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department. Gill responded after Kuchta contacted relief organizations seeking help for Yalobusha County following Winter Storm Fern, bringing in food, winter clothing, bottled water and propane to assist local residents.
YALOBUSHA COUNTY — When Winter Storm Fern left much of Yalobusha County without heat, water, or reliable access to basic supplies, help arrived quickly — and quietly — through a call answered hundreds of miles away.
Josh Gill, a commander with the United Cajun Navy, was contacted by Libby Kuchta, a volunteer liaison working with the Yalobusha County Sheriff’s Department. Kuchta had been searching for outside assistance after realizing local resources were stretched thin.
“She told me, ‘We have nothing,’” Gill said. “I asked her if she needed something for her family, and she said, ‘My family is the entire county.’ That’s when I told her I was coming.”
Gill arrived in Yalobusha County soon afterwards and quickly began mobilizing a large network of disaster-response partners. Within hours, trucks carrying food, bottled water, winter clothing, blankets, gloves, propane and other supplies were headed to North Mississippi including the shelter at the Multi-Purpose Building in Coffeeville.
“We like to partner directly with counties, municipalities, law enforcement and emergency management,” Gill said. “Our goal is to make sure local officials have the tools they need to take care of their people.”
Gill said the response effort in Yalobusha County included coordination with Sheriff Jerimaine Gooch and county EMA Director Stewart Spence, both of whom he praised for their cooperation and quick decision-making.
“They’ve been phenomenal,” Gill said. “Anything we needed, they made it happen.”
According to Gill, the United Cajun Navy works with a wide range of nonprofit and corporate partners to fill gaps that smaller counties often face during large-scale disasters.
“These small counties don’t deal with something like this every day,” he said.
“They don’t always know what resources are available. When we see a gap, we step in and fill it.”
Gill said the organization has delivered thousands of winter jackets across Mississippi during the storm response, including a large share to North Mississippi.
Fuel assistance was also a critical need, with propane deliveries prioritized to help families heat their homes.
“Libby called and said people were cold, hungry and without water,” Gill said.
“So we flooded the area with what was needed — jackets, blankets, beanies, gloves and propane.”
Gill noted that as temperatures begin to rise, a new challenge will emerge: broken water pipes and limited access to non-drinking water.
“We’re going to start pre-staging bottled water for drinking,” he said. “But we also need to look at bulk water for things like flushing toilets and washing dishes. You don’t want people using bottled drinking water for that.”
Gill said the United Cajun Navy’s logistics operation is based out of a 55,000-square-foot warehouse in Baton Rouge, allowing the group to respond rapidly to requests from local governments.
“We take direct requests from counties and municipalities and get it on a truck fast,” he said. “That’s why we’re successful.”
Despite the scale of the operation, Gill said fundraising is not something the organization aggressively promotes.
“Our motto is simple,” he said. “If you do good, you’re going to do good.”
Gill said what stood out most during his time in Yalobusha County was the community itself.
“The people here are phenomenal,” he said. “There are no racial barriers. Everybody just chips in. That’s impressive, and it’s good to see.”
