Volunteer Y'all!!

As the 2 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina approches, many people and organizations down here are trying to get the word out that more volunteers are still needed. While it may not like like the disaster zone it did 2 years ago there is a whole heck of a lot of work still to do, to get these communities back on their feet. Driving in parts of New Orleans there are tons of empty houses, just sitting there, some gutted, others still with everything (including lots of mold) still sitting in them. In the 9th ward, there are still cars on fences, flipped busses, and homes with half a roof and no doors or windows. Or there are just empty lots, where homes have been bull dozed and the families have not returned. . .if they survived the storm. 95% of St Bernard Parrish was flooded and there are still many empty and abandoned buildings there, it doesn't really look like a town at all.

In Biloxi, much of I-90 (along the beach) looks a lot like it did a year and a half ago when I was down here. The Casinos are back in full swing, which is good for the community in that it provides jobs for people, but it is sad that those were the first businesses to come back. Many buildings along that strip that were partially destroyed or only had frames standing still look the same. There are some signs of rebuilding, most of which has been done by volunteer organizations. 2 playgrounds have been built by an organization called KABOOM, trying to provide safe places for children to play, as more people come back into the area. The school I am working at only has 160 children enrolled, and if that number does not increase by the end of this year they will be forced to merge with another elementary school in Biloxi. There is a project community right beside the school, which are the nicest project homes that I have ever seen, which should bring more families in, but they still need to be finished. Hands On did a mold removal experiement/project on this one community, called Hope 6. They tested 4 different methods to remove mold, and they now use the one that they found to work the best. Lately, the mold crew here at Hands On is having to go and clean mold from homes that were once gutted and demolded improperly. This is becoming a problem in both Mississippi and Louisiana.

The media is jumping on this bandwagon to attempt to increase the numbers of volunteers in these communities. Last week i mentioned that I went to NOLA (New Orleans Louisiana) to see Andersoon Cooper. The show that he taped with us focused on what has been done since the storm, and the massive amount that is still left to do. In typical Anderson Cooper style, he talked about some of the reasons why things have not changed that much, and challenging people to do something about this. You'll have to watch his special, on Aug 29th (Anderson Cooper 360) and look for me, but more importantly, to find out about everything that still needs to be done.
This past Monday we had a press conference here at Hands On. The CEO of the Corporation for National and Community Service (the government agency that is responsible for Americorps) was here, and had breakfast with us. The press conference was mostly a PR attempt to get the name of Americorps out. There are a lot of Americorps State people here (they do shorter terms of service and stay in one place) and there are always an NCCC team or two here as well. One of David Isner's (the CEO guy) announcements was that this past year, the number of volunteers increased than the previous year after the storm. Of course, he was thanking everyone who came down here, and encouraging others to come volunteer their time.

If you have some time, I recommend you comming down here and giving some of your time. There are tons of organizations here you can work through, and that will provide your housing. So far, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has been the most organized in work and living that i have experienced. They still have some camps down here in MS and LA. On top of the vast need still down here, there have been a number of recent disasters in other parts of the US and in the world. I would liek to challenge you to find out how you can help. If you are unable to give right now, pray for the people affected by the disasters.

Oh yeah, Volunteer Y'all is slogan for the Mississippi Commission for Volunteer service. Signs saying this are all over the place, along with "Thanks Ya'll" signs. For me, y'all is an ordinary word, that i use on a daily basis. For my team, who still thinks it is funny when i say it, has now started saying y'all at the end of most phrases. Atleast i know that the northerners will take something from the south home with them, whether they like it or not! =)

Current countdown: 41 days!