A look at the recovery efforts 10+ months after the storm

This is taken from my report that I sent to the BonaRespond leaders.

Hi everyone,

Overall:

I just got back from a week in the Gulf. Yes, it is getting better, but the pace of improvement is still very slow. That said, the area is looking better. Several casinos are open, and in Biloxi and the French Quarter the majority of businesses have opened.

On July 4^th, there was only a half day of work so we went to St. Bernard’s Parish and New Orleans. It is sad to see how much work remains there. It will be years for them to recover. Indeed, it will never be the same. From the Lake Front Airport to homes, to businesses, miles and miles are still ghost towns. Other whole neighborhoods have FEMA trailers at every house. But in other regions (Dillard University area) some businesses are reopening and there are at least glimmers of hope.

Bay St. Louis and Waveland are much cleaner than in March (in fact I think it was the biggest difference of anywhere I saw). Debris piles are largely removed, but FEMA trailers are still the norm and many homes still need to be demolded and then rebuilt. But like elsewhere, there has been progress and some new homes are being built. I walked around town for a while (street team of one) and actually got to speak with some of the same people I had met on previous trips which was great fun. They are not yet in their homes, but will be soon. (I predict within 2-4 weeks for a couple of them.)

That said however, the streets of East Biloxi are still about the same as in March--Remember they were much further along then. There are fewer and smaller debris piles, but most every street still has some debris piles and on most days an interior team (or two or even more) still go out to gut homes. So by no means are things back to normal. Yankiei stadium is still the relief center with the Salvation Army playing a major role in feeding volunteers.

Much attention is being devoted to mold abatement. In fact I was on three mold teams in the week I was there. Like most things, mold abatement is further ahead in Biloxi than in most locales. To help this, on one day our mold team went to Bay St. Louis and helped to train one of their volunteers on leading a mold team.

Pass Christian, Long Beach, and other towns in the area have some areas that are dramatically improved while other parts of town are still in very bad. Indeed, it often is street to street or even house to house. Coordination in many of these small towns appears to be lacking and there have been some instances of apparent fraud with some relief agencies. In a possibly related issue, the Morrell Center has been closed and bull-dozed so we will not be staying there on future trips.

Skilled workers

The shortage of skilled labor is a big problem. Electricians are in particularly high demand across the region as drywall can not be hung etc. until the electric system is installed and approved. If you know of electricians, plumbers, carpenters, or any contractor who can spare some time down there, please have them volunteer. Indeed, feel free to have them contact me for more details.

Biloxi:

As most of my time has been spent in Biloxi I can speak best on their operations.

Most things at Handson are about the same. There ranged from about 110 people to about 70 people at Handson the week I was there. They still appear to be the leaders in the area and are involved in many areas from interior work, to the Humane Society, to local Boys and Girls club, to beach clean-ups, to a new pet survey, and to redoing a park (with Persevere Volunteers).

At Handson itself, Erika and Carrie are the leaders with Chris and Suzanne playing important roles. Americorps volunteers have assumed the role of many of the long term volunteers as team leaders at many locales (including Handson). They generally are hard working and try hard, but do not have the experience or skills of some of the long-timers.

Teams did roll out at about 8:15 every morning, but unlike in the past, most jobs were done before 3:00 pm and when a job was completed, there is poor communication as to what can be done next. Whereas before an early ending job would lead to a call back to base, now many leaders do not even carry cell phones or radios. This led to some teams getting back very early and wasting volunteer time. The sense of urgency of past trips (even March) seems to be missing).

Overall, the emergency of last year is over. The transition to a different type of work has begun and will continue for months to come. The long-term commitment that HandsOn and other organizations have made to the region is very valuable. While the organizations are not perfect, I can not imagine how long the recovery would take without the volunteer groups.

The Future:

I recommend that BONARESPONDS minimally plan two student trips to the area. Given that I have to teach over our “fall break”, I think the best times will be right after Christmas and again over Spring break.

Because of the changing makeup of work, it is a good idea that those going on the trips receive some training. This can be done with through local BOCES (Vo-Tech) and or contractors or retail hardware stores.