FUSS Youth Service in New Orleans, April 2007
A group of 23 volunteers, members and advisors of the FUSS youth group, drove from Schenectady to New Orleans in April 2007 and worked for 4 days performing work that included gutting flood-damaged homes. Later, the youth presented their learnings and experiences in a Sunday Service at FUSS. The following comments from our youth are taken from their presentations at that service.
Group prepares to depart for New Orleans
Welcome and intro (Nate):
In April of 2007, 23 of us went to New Orleans on a journey of social justice, a journey of faith. Our experience was one that touched us deeply, as we hope you will see and hear from this service. Before we went, we wrote a covenant together. Part of our covenant was that we bring back what we saw and learned while we were in New Orleans. While it is difficult to put into words what we experienced, we want to try. We are so happy you could be here this morning to celebrate that journey with us. In the spirit of worship, we ask that you please refrain from applauding. We want to thank all of our friends, family and congregation members for helping to support this journey. And now, let us enter into the spirit of worship together.
Group at First UU of NOLA
My name is Lesley and the trip to New Orleans was an amazing experience. Not only a lot of fun, but eye-opening as well. It has given me a new perspective on the range of wealth and poverty in this country. It has also shown me how devastating natural disasters can be, but despite all the loss, spirit and hope remain. When we arrived in New Orleans I had no idea what to expect. It is one thing to read about an event like this or see it on television, but completely another to be there in person and experience what happened. I think the time that touched me the most was when we were gutting a house. Even though we were tearing down a family’s home, at the same moment we were helping them to rebuild. As we were clearing out debris we found items that had been left behind including pictures, a map and a box with a girl’s name on it. It wasn’t until I read her name that I realized a family had actually been living there and I wondered who she was. We set aside the items that we found and possibly in the future the family will return to those memories. I might not have helped a great amount, but I certainly have allowed for a family to begin their life again. I would like to go back to New Orleans in the future.
Upper 9th ward
We had an incredible time here in New Orleans. I know that I have done things that I never imagined I would do and have seen things that I will not soon forget. There was a sense in the city that despite the destruction, which was more than I ever knew, there is a sense of hope and the drive to get on with life. It was inspiring. We were all tired at the end of the day, yet I felt like I was doing something incredible and that kept me excited and motivated to keep my energy up. Having each other helped too. I have learned so much about myself and am so proud of what we did and the fact that I belong to this religion. One of my favorite parts of the trip was hearing what UUs are doing in the city when other people did not. It has taken me a long time, but I finally feel like I did something to really put my faith into action and help people, which is what I think being a UU is all about. I am sorry that we could only spend a week or so, but I am glad that I have an opportunity to share my feelings with all of you. Thank you for your interest in our work and your support.
Gutting attire
Just the other day I was talking to someone about my trip to New Orleans. She explained to me that she had just been down there on a business trip. “It’s amazing how quickly they rebuilt everything!” She told me. I sat in stunned silence as I attempted to recover from her remark. But the sad fact is, she represents what most people think about New Orleans: That it has been restored and is back to its old self. Nothing could be farther from the truth.
Just driving into the city is a wake-up call. Everywhere you look is another destroyed building falling off its foundation. Every house has a waterline and roof damage. At every corner are makeshift street signs. What amazed me was the magnitude of the damage. It left me anxious to do something.
I got my wish the next day, when a group of us began to gut a small house.
I remember thinking; this is what it means to be a Unitarian. And it’s true. A thousand miles away from home and we were putting our U.U. values into action. Not only that, but now we will be able to spread the truth about the continuing devastation in New Orleans.
So after I recovered from what the woman had said, I looked her in the eye, and said, “No, it is not rebuilt, not even a little. But someday it will be.”
Musicians Village
Following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, I heard on TV the effects that they had on New Orleans, and had seen countless pictures and videos. But still, they didn’t truly show what it is like to be there.
It was depressing to see what the wind and especially flooding had done to the whole city, partially damaging some houses in the higher areas, to ruining poorer neighborhoods like those in the 9th Ward. But at the same time, we saw people living their lives, and dealing with what happened, and this was refreshing. Although they were impacted and have lost a great deal, people in New Orleans are happy that they didn’t lose their life, and they are enjoying it.
New Orleans isn’t really talked about on the news anymore, but I hope that volunteer groups traveling down there can spread the word to other parts of the country. This was a rewarding experience, and I wish to go back to Louisiana to help out again.
Done gutting
Good morning. I’m Leigh & on Friday, April 6th, at 5:30 am I arrived in the FUSS parking lot for the journey of a lifetime. I was going to New Orleans, Louisiana. When I told my friends where I was planning to spend my ENTIRE spring break, they asked "why now?". I explained to them that the issue was not dead, & shouldn’t be forgotten. There are still many things to be done. Houses that hadn’t been touched, people still displaced, debris still all over the place, many houses to build, & so much more. But as I look back on what I told them, I realized I was doing what my family would call a "code 10". I was preaching about something I had not yet experienced. The pictures, articles, & stories you hear & see in the news & internet aren’t anything compared to the minute you see it all, directly in front of you. I remember when we were driving around the lower 9th ward, we had gotten out to look around. It was practically a ghost town. Nobody was in sight. A few others & I had found a house that had literally been picked up & dropped about 6 feet to the right. We walked up to the door, looked in, & found signs of somebody’s life everywhere. An old couch & curtains still up. In the lot next door we found dominoes, computer games, ID cards, & a tile floor. It hit me, these houses have not been touched TWO YEARS after the hurricane. Though there is still a lot to be done, I feel I shouldn’t focus only on the negatives of the situation. The people there are incredible! If you ever wanna go find people who treat you kindly no matter what, this is the place to go. They treat you like they’ve known you for years. When I was working with Habitat for Humanity, I talked to this woman who told me she was a proud homeowner in the Musicians Village. She was very upbeat & thankful for all the work that people were putting into rebuilding this wonderful city. Because of her upbeat personality, I was told her story & a few others. She told me the story of a man who had a pet tarantula who had survived the storm. Amazing, right? When she told me the story, I thought "Why is this so amazing? What makes this story so ironic & significant?" So I got to thinking, & eventually figured it out. This small creature survived a huge storm. If it could survive, how many people could have made it out? & for those who did survive, what made them come back? It could be a large number of things. Faith. A sense of belonging & home. But something that stood out to me was the sense of hope that you felt walking around the neighborhoods. Hope that the life & city that these people call home, will & can be rebuilt. I close my piece with a quote I found while on my journey. "Many of the great achievements of the world were accomplished by tired & discouraged people who kept on working."
Leigh painting
Mindy say:
200 words tell trip.
Don’t think possible.
Want show seashells
embedded in ground,
tell front stoop without house behind it.
Show hand-painted street sign,
car in door.
Tell why cry when talk of trip.
Tell architecture makes eyes wide,
show all buildings
all broken.
Tell sadness building new houses
all alike .
Tell happiness—bruises and backaches
earned.
Buy big busses—take everybody.
Want, but can’t.
Proud.
Use only 81 words.
Save some for others talk better.
Thank you.
Kelly siding
“I know what it means to miss New Orleans.” ~~Louis Armstrong
Before we left for our week of working in New Orleans, I thought we had prepared well. This was a spiritual pilgrimage, so we created a covenant together. My co-coordinator, Randy and I gave the youth different assignments: research New Orleans, its history, the levees, how they were built, why they failed, how Katrina ravaged the city, racism, classism, etc., etc., etc. They did it. And they did it WELL. We had phenomenal reports presented to us and we learned a great deal. Ellie von Wellsheim and Kevin O’Conner came to a meeting and spoke to us about what we’d be doing in New Orleans and about how we might react. We DID the preparation.
Or so we thought.
Nothing could’ve prepared us for what we saw as we drove over the I-10 Bridge, past Slidell, into New Orleans. You’ve heard the youth describe it. The chatter in our cars stopped. Everyone went silent as we tried to comprehend the vastness of the destruction.
On Easter morning, we worshipped with the New Orleans congregation. I asked the DRE how many members they had. She said, “Before the storm, 150. Now, 75, if we’re lucky.” Later that day, we took a self-guided driving tour of a city that had been devastated by Katrina and Rita, two “girls gone wild.” In a city with a reputation for girls going wild, it didn’t compute. Street after street, we saw how the city had been destroyed by this storm. It didn’t matter your race, your education, your wealth, your social status. No neighborhood had been untouched. Many parts of the city were ghost towns, with entire neighborhoods still standing empty, even 18 months after the girls hit. To say it was eerie or unsettling is a cosmic understatement.
Later, I spoke with Randy about my feelings and how unbearable it would be to me if we suddenly lost 200+ people from here. He replied, “Think about it this way: if we’d had a catastrophic fire that burned FUSS to the ground, the community would rally around us to help us get back on our feet. But in this case, all the churches, all the homes, all the businesses, everything has burned to the ground. Everyone is in the same situation. Who is there to help?” Seeing all those homes, all the destruction, and knowing how little has been done to help the residents of New Orleans, only intensified my grief and outrage.
Thankfully, the next day, we began to work. I worked harder physically than I have in a LONG time, and even so, the youth worked 100 times harder than I did. And yet, our efforts were small compared to what needs to be done. No matter. Strangers told us “thank you for being here” and gave us hugs or the thumbs-up sign. One of the youth, Leigh, said to me, “I feel so good about myself today.” She was right on. To help rebuild, even in a small way, it WAS a good feeling!
The physical labor was hard, but the mental labor was harder. By the time Thursday arrived, I was ready to go home. I wasn’t tired. It was a lot of fun, being with this group and I cannot tell you how proud of them I am. I watched them ALL grow and learn in so many different ways and on so many different levels. They were kind and selfless. They were inspiring in countless ways. I would go to the ends of the earth with them! But I could not tolerate seeing any more destroyed buildings and vacant neighborhoods. They were depressing in a way I cannot describe. I stand in awe of the courage and fortitude of the New Orleans residents. How they have maintained any semblance of sanity is a true mystery to me. Yet they do it, they stay and endure, in spite of everything stacked against them. What’s more, they do it with grace, humor and dignity.
Maybe that’s why it was so difficult to leave. A big part of me stayed in New Orleans. I realized through our work there that New Orleans is HOME to so many people. This was made clear when I saw Emily Danielson, a former FUSS youth who is now a resident of New Orleans. I am proud of the work she is doing there. Her devotion to the city and its people is outstanding. I said to her, “You will never leave here, Emily.” Her million-watt smile lit up her face as she replied, “Nope, I won’t. And now you’ve been here. Now you understand.”
She’s right, I think. When I think about Katrina, I think about a hurricane, spinning, spinning, throwing off waves of destruction and ruining everything she touched. When I think about this trip, I think we are a hurricane of another sort—as we spun, we throw off healing, hope and love.
One of the things that intrigued me was the Fleur de Lis symbol. It was everywhere: on cars, on flags, on clothing. I wondered why, so I looked it up. It has many meanings, but in New Orleans, post-Katrina, it has taken on a new one: “Do not abandon us, do not forget us.” I think I speak for all of us when I say there is no way we could ever forget New Orleans. We all know, indeed, what it means, to truly miss New Orleans.
Yours in peace and faith,
Mindy (Director of Religious Education at the time of this trip)
Dinner
