| In late October, nine FUSS members and friends traveled to the Gulf Coast to assist in the region’s rebuilding, two years after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We started and ended our work in New Orleans, but most was performed in the tiny town of Phoenix in rural Plaquemines Parish, where 60 families lived near the mouth of the Mississippi River.
We found New Orleans, where most of us had volunteered before, little changed. Though more rebuilding is happening, there are still parts of the city that look as though Katrina just hit. People still struggle to decide whether to demolish or reconstruct the 328,000 homes that were destroyed. The Times Picayune prints 14 pages of fine-print ‘blighted house announcements’ each day. Anyone on those lists will either be fined or lose their house to a bulldozer if they don’t gut and secure their building by a deadline.
On Monday, we gutted a house in the Eighth Ward during a 5" downpour. Streets flooded, pumps strained. The house had a leaky roof, so working inside didn’t offer much escape. At a workshop on racism that night, we were struck how nervous our hosts were about the rain. They wanted to move along and get home safely. Rain does that to the people of the Gulf Coast two years after Katrina. Indeed, nearly everyone reports some symptoms related to trauma, yet 90 percent of the therapists have left.
Tuesday the rain stopped and we headed 60 miles southeast to Phoenix for four days of rebuilding. Reverend Tyrone, the pastor of the Zion Travelers Community Baptist Church, told us they realized early on the government wasn’t going to help, so they needed to help themselves. They were a community almost entirely of African Americans, who were relatively poor and been living on the land for generations. They were surrounded by the Mississippi and a swamp. FEMA did offer to build them a trailer park five miles away, but the residents argued for trailers on their own land. FEMA relented.
Over the two years, many volunteers from different faiths helped rebuild several homes, construct a community center and restore two churches in Phoenix. Unitarians were among the first to step forward to help. Rev Tyronne, with a twinkle in his eye, called himself an honorary UU Baptist. During the week, he wore several of his UU tee shirts along with his Jesus baseball cap. He reminded us that the differences in our faiths didn’t matter. What mattered is how you help your fellow man.
We painted, fixed plumbing and electrical wiring. We built porch railings for an 83-year-old resident. We installed screen doors, shutters and ceiling fans. Ellie sewed curtains. We stayed in the little church across the lane; sleeping in the kitchen, on the altar and between the pews. We experienced kindness and love from these wonderful people in Phoenix.
Our final night we returned to New Orleans, where we donated books we had collected for the Gay and Lesbian Community Center in the French Quarter. We learned about their fine work, as well as their need for a new copy machine. We said we’d do what we could.
On our last day, we met with Ginny Kelly, who runs a program for families in crisis who have children about to enter the public school system. We brought her baby clothes and some money for her program and told her we’d try to raise more.
It was probably a typo in Rev Tyronne’s e-mail thanking us for our service to his community. Instead of saying “we will always be grateful...” he wrote “graceful.” Indeed, the nine of us from FUSS met so many people, who despite their material losses, were filled with grace.
Now that we’re back, we’d like to do more to help the school children, the Lesbian & Gay Community Center, and our host, the congregation of the First Unitarian Church of New Orleans. Please speak to Lois and Don Porter, Ellie von Welsheim or Kevin O’Connor about ways to contribute. (Kevin O’Connor & Ellie Von Wellsheim)
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