Hurricane Katrina Relief Trip

 

        

 

     

Operation: Katrina

Two coaches and four members of the team traveled to New Orleans May 15-19 for a relief trip through Catholic Charities.  Head coach, Krista Singleton, assistant coach, Megan Burgdorf, and players, Jill Barry, Meagan Buffington, Heather Hernandez, and Erica Parker joined with other volunteers from Walsh University in "Operation Helping Hands."

The trip began with checking into Camp Algiers, where the volunteers have been housed for the past eight months.  The camp consisted of a tent that slept 400, recreation tent, laundry tent, dining hall, and shower facilities.  Camp Algiers has the capacity to house up to 4,000 volunteers; however, most of the housing has been taken down as the volunteers have diminished.  FEMA will be completely shutting down this facility in June, as they feel it is too expensive to house the volunteers.

The team then met with Father Bill, the father of the church on the premises.  He described what we might be seeing and experiencing over the next five days.  Catholic Charities volunteers for individuals that are elderly or have disabilities that cannot complete the work by themselves.  These individuals have to also want to rebuild and move back into the house that was devastated by Katrina.  He stated that it takes an average of $8,000-$15,000 to gut out a house, which is what the team would be doing for the next days ahead.  It would cost the camp an average of $100 a day to house and feed each volunteer, which would, in turn, allow the Walsh group to gut a house for an average of $2300.  Thinking about all of the houses that have been gutted by volunteers, the Catholic Charities organization is saving the government, society, and the city quite a bit of money.

When the Walsh group arrived at their first house on Tuesday morning, they were greeted by Robin.  She is the granddaughter of the owner of the house.  Her grandmother had recently lost her husband two months prior to Katrina hitting New Orleans.  She also has Alzheimer's and does not remember that her husband has passed away.  She is currently in Atlanta and wants to get back to her house because she believes that her husband is waiting for her.  Robin stated that she did not know how they were going to rebuild her grandmothers' home if the Walsh group had not been there to volunteer their efforts.

Robin's house took a day and a half to gut.  The group had to take all of the furniture and belongings out of the house, as no one had been in the house since the hurricane hit about eight months ago.  Once the furniture and belongings were on the curb, it was time for everyone to grab a sledgehammer and tear the walls down.  The house was completely gutted to the 2 x 4's so that volunteer carpenters could come in and rebuild the inside of the house.  There has been no electricity or water in this house for about eight months.

Once the group was finished with Robin's house, they moved on to a new house on Wednesday afternoon.  Once again, they were greeted at the house by the owner.  Lloyd, 80-years-old, and his sister lived in the house that was split into two apartments.  He has been staying with relatives in the area and was not allowed back in the house because of a heart condition.  He had stated that he wanted to finish his life in his house.  Lloyd was such a sweet gentleman that provided the group with cold water and friendly conversation.

Lloyd had not been in the house since the hurricane had hit and it was quite tough watching him as the group brought out all of his precious belongings that were ruined by this disaster.  It hit the group hard and was an emotional time for Lloyd and the team. 

Unlike Robin's refrigerator, the refrigerators in Lloyd's house had not been cleaned out prior to the hurricane.  It was explained to the group that you do not open the refrigerators and you duct tape them closed before removing them from the house.  Although this was done, the smell was still unbearable, as water was continually leaking out of the refrigerators when being removed from the house.  The group can honestly say that they have never smelled anything close to what they smelled this week and were appreciating a breath of fresh air

Once the furniture was removed, once again, the group reached for the sledgehammers and got to work.  However, these walls were made of plaster, which is a close second to concrete, so removing the walls would be much harder than the drywall in Robin's house.  The teardown and cleanup of Lloyd's house was much more difficult and demanding on the group.  The heat began to increase each day and by Friday, the team was thankful that they only had to work a half a day, as it was extremely difficult to breathe in the house.

The group was required to wear long pants, long sleeves, goggles, masks, and a hat/bandana for protection. The mold and other possible diseases in the houses were still prevalent and allowed for the group to be as safe as possible.

This relief trip was an experience that the team will never forget.  It allowed them to be reminded of the things they have and to cherish every moment of life.  The group made a difference in Robin's and Lloyd's lives and changed their own forever.