Strongward

08/31/2026

Meet Leigh Thorpe, Strongward's Chief Advancement Officer. A native New Orleanian, Leigh lost her home during Hurricane Katrina and watched this organization step up for hundreds of families across southeast Louisiana in the years that followed.

Leigh reflects on the organization's roots and looks ahead to the next 20 years: helping communities prepare for and recover from disaster, emerging stronger than before.

Get to know Strongward, formerly SBP: www.wearestrongward.org

08/29/2026

21 years after Hurricane Katrina, Darlene Jones' story is what emerging stronger looks like: living in a home that's secure and built to withstand whatever comes next. And, as always, she's still choosing joy: "I was determined that I was not going to be an old, mean, resentful, ugly person. That was just not going to be me."

Darlene rode out Hurricane Katrina in a senior apartment building that once housed the first Black hospital in the South. She wouldn't leave without the two dogs she'd rescued from the floodwater, and waited for the Army to airlift all three out together.

From a shelter in Chicago, she watched land speculators offer cash for properties sight unseen. So she took her $2,500 government stipend, bought a car, and drove alone back to New Orleans to photograph every property she could find, so fellow evacuees could see what they'd left behind and decide for themselves what came next.

She eventually made it home. First to a FEMA trailer in her father's yard, then to an 825-square-foot house in the Tremé that she bought in 2007, determined to plant herself back in the community she'd always fought for.

What she didn't know: that house had been quietly falling apart since the day she bought it. Floors with holes in them. A wall pulling away from the structure. A living room ceiling that eventually collapsed. She applied for assistance program after assistance program. It took years just to get the wall fixed.

Then word reached Strongward (formerly SBP). A friend who knew Darlene's decades of community organizing told our staff about her house. We came out, assessed the damage, and got to work: repairing and repainting the exterior, restoring her living room walls and ceiling, reinstalling her ceiling fan, securing the ductwork, and building in resilience with a FORTIFIED roof and protective window and door barriers.

"[Strongward] saved me," Darlene says. "Literally."

Learn more: wearestrongward.org

08/25/2026

Two decades after Hurricane Katrina, the Lower 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish are still writing their recovery story. Last week, Strongward CEO Carol Markowitz joined Fox 8's NOLA Now to talk about the K-20 "Fortified, Not Forgotten" grant from Baptist Community Ministries, which honors the 20th anniversary by investing in what comes next for these communities.

"There are great unmet needs for many, many families after disaster, and that's when Strongward steps in," Carol said. "I'm really proud to be here today to talk about our work in that long-term disaster recovery space."

Carol was joined by Rashida Ferdinand of Sankofa Community Development Corporation and James Karst of the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, two organizations doing incredible work.

Watch the full segment:

Baptist Community Ministries marked the 20th Anniversary of Katrina with the K-20 grant, supporting recovery in the 9th ward and St. Bernard. In this sponsored segment, three recipients Carol Markowitz, Chief Executive Officer of Strongward, Rashida Ferdinand, Founder of Sankofa Community Developmen...

08/20/2026

A huge update from us: SBP is now Strongward!

New name but same mission. We step in after the news cameras leave, when families are left to navigate an aftermath the country has already stopped paying attention to, and immediate disaster response and relief efforts wind down. We help communities prepare for and recover from disaster, so they can emerge stronger than before.

For 20 years, we did this work as SBP. Today, we're introducing a name that fits what that work has grown into, and what's still ahead. Strongward is where two decades of long-term disaster recovery have brought us, and a reminder of what communities can do when they have the right support behind them.

You'll still see our organization in your feed the same as always, we've simply updated it to Strongward.

Learn more at wearestrongward.org.

07/24/2026

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina changed the greater New Orleans area forever. In its aftermath, SBP was founded to help families navigate the long road to recovery.

Throughout these past 20 years, supporters like you have helped families return home, strengthened communities, and built a more resilient future.

Today, you can help write the next chapter.

Thanks to a generous 3x matching gift from Travelers, every dollar you give will be tripled through Friday, August 7.

Make your gift today and help families recover faster from disaster.

https://social.sbpusa.org/4fkYlCg

07/16/2026

Thank you, Baptist Community Ministries, for spotlighting SBP as part of your K20: Fortified Not Forgotten campaign. We're proud to stand alongside the other organizations still showing up for the 9th Ward and St. Bernard Parish, twenty years after Katrina.

For nearly 20 years, SBP has worked to shrink the time between disaster and recovery, rebuilding homes and restoring stability for families. Since their founding in New Orleans, they've expanded their reach nationally while never losing sight of the community that called them to this work.

SBP started with two people from Washington, D.C. who showed up to volunteer after Hurricane Katrina, and has grown into one of the most recognized disaster recovery organizations in the country.

Learn more about SBP's mission and work in the community as a part of the K20: Fortified Not Forgotten initiative by Baptist Community Ministries at bcm.org/K20.

07/14/2026

Darlene Jones came back to New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina with a purpose. She bought a home and started fighting for the community she loved, even as her Katrina-damaged house fell apart around her. For years, she applied for every assistance program she could find to help with repairs, only to encounter dead end after dead end.

That persistence eventually connected her with SBP. Working with SBP's rebuild team, she got her home's exterior repaired and repainted, the walls and ceiling in her living room restored, her ceiling fan reinstalled, and the ductwork underneath secured.

Darlene is still fighting for New Orleans two decades after Katrina. Now she has a home that can keep up with her.

Read her story: https://social.sbpusa.org/4fl5pxv

Darlene Jones, a lifelong New Orleans community activist who stayed through Hurricane Katrina and fought to reclaim her city, finally got the help she needed when SBP repaired her deteriorating home.

07/07/2026

Construction management is a major factor in determining how quickly disaster survivors can return home. Whether you’re launching a housing recovery program or managing one already underway, having the right systems in place can make the difference between delays and successful outcomes.

Join SBP’s Disaster Housing Course on August 11–12 to learn directly from current and former CDBG-DR housing program managers who have led recovery efforts across the country. This hands-on course covers the entire disaster housing process—from program setup and damage assessments to scopes of work, notice to proceed, construction management, and project closeout.

You’ll also have the opportunity to collaborate with public- and private-sector housing professionals, discuss real-world challenges, and leave with practical tools you can apply immediately.

Seats are filling quickly. Register today to reserve your spot.

Registration and pricing details: https://social.sbpusa.org/4vdfgvb

06/25/2026

Building resilience starts with investing in local leaders. SBP recently welcomed two new Disaster Resilience Fellows who will spend the next two years embedded in communities across Western North Carolina and North Mississippi, helping local partners assess risks, identify resilience priorities, pursue funding opportunities, and strengthen long-term preparedness efforts. Their arrival reflects the continued growth of SBP’s Fellows Program, which provides communities with the dedicated capacity and technical expertise needed to transform resilience goals into action.

Learn how these new Fellows will support community-driven solutions and help build a safer, stronger future for the regions they serve.

https://social.sbpusa.org/4eGannZ

SBP Disaster Resilience Fellows will work in Western North Carolina and North Mississippi to help local nonprofits assess risk, unlock funding, and build long-term preparedness

05/19/2026

Leigh Thorpe has joined SBP as our inaugural Chief Advancement Officer. She brings more than two decades of nonprofit leadership — including senior roles at the National Urban League, the National WWII Museum, and United Way of Southeast Louisiana — and deep roots in New Orleans, where SBP is headquartered. Leigh will lead fundraising, marketing, and volunteer engagement as SBP works to reach more communities recovering from disaster.

Welcome to the team, Leigh!

SBP welcomes Leigh Thorpe as its inaugural Chief Advancement Officer. With 20+ years of nonprofit leadership in New Orleans and beyond, she will lead SBP's fundraising, marketing, and volunteer engagement efforts.