June 11, 2025

St. Augustine’s Church in Peru is proud to announce the formation of the North Country Community Disaster Hub, a new regional initiative to provide coordinated response, training and relief services in the event of natural disasters or community-wide emergencies.

The Hub will be located in the former St. Augustine’s School, now functioning as the parish center, directly across the street from the church. The facility will serve as a multi-purpose emergency response site, offering space for shelter, resource distribution, volunteer training, and collaborative planning with community partners throughout Clinton, Essex, and Franklin Counties.

“Our parish center has always been a place of service,” said Father Christopher Looby, pastor of St. Augustine’s. “Now it will also become a place of readiness and hope – ready to serve our neighbors in times of crisis.”

The North Country Community Disaster Hub is being developed in partnership with St. Joseph’s Outreach Center, The United Way, the American Red Cross, local Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VOAD) networks, county emergency services and a growing number of nonprofit and faith-based partners. Planned upgrades to the facility include accessible showers, laundry facilities, and a generator system to ensure resilience during power outages.

In addition to infrastructure improvements, the Hub will host training events for shelter volunteers, trauma and crisis responders, and agency personnel preparing for possible Multi-Agency Resource Center (MARC) activations during large-scale emergencies.

The creation of the Disaster Hub reflects a growing commitment across the North Country to prepare collaboratively for future challenges—including storms, flooding, and prolonged outages—while building stronger bonds between service agencies, faith communities, and volunteers.

Further announcements, including upcoming training opportunities and community events, will be made in the coming weeks.