Storm Corps participants - please post up your reflections on Day 4 in the "Comments" below!
The Storm Corps teams had a great day of hard work today in Biloxi! I had the good fortune to hear an orientation on the East Biloxi's Coordination Center's work this morning. They have done an amazing job bringing together service providers and assessing community needs. Currently they are working on a survey with community residents, 6 and a half months after Katrina, to determine how residents are doing at this stage and what their goals are for their community going forward. Dozens of Storm Corps participants have been participating in this door-to-door survey process with residents. The stories they heard from residents have been powerful, to say the least. We've talked with residents that had to flee to their attic during Katrina and then swim out of their windows to safety on their roof when the attic started to flood. Residents who are moving forward in big ways already in rebuilding their homes and lives. And many residents who still need many services. Thanks to the East Biloxi coordination center, United Way, Hands On Gulf Coast, Salvation Army, and all the service providers Idoing the day to day work with residents in E. Biloxi and throughout the Gulf Coast! They are changing lives every single day. We were fortunate to be a part of the work this week. - Mike, Storm Corps team leader
p.s. Please click on the "Comments" link immediately below to read reflections on Day 4 from Storm Corps participants!
HI
i don't like eggs
today was a good day
everyone here is so different, it blows my mind. i've always thought of myself as open minded, and then i came here and it TOTALLY opened my eyes to everything and how different people really can be.
the longer i'm here the more optomistic i become... i now feel like things i do can make a difference and things here WILL get better, as long as we continue to have people here that are as wonderful as the Hands On people that are here now.
i am terrified of water tanks.
i am so grateful for everything i have at home now... the snow doesn't seem so bad anymore, and i think i will definitely be coming back here ...hopefully soon. All of the Hands On people are amazing and they treat everyone like they've known them for years... despite the all the drama, stupid disagreements, and dirt i'm wicked glad i came here... ayuh, wicked.. that's right MAINE IS AWESOME
i am sunburnt, time to dance.
Posted by: whitney | March 16, 2006 at 09:51 PM
the fourth day of storm corps is over. there has been tension flaring between groups over beaurocratic and accomodational frustrations, there's been opinion differences regarding the confederate flag, there's been all sorts of new experiences for all sorts of people.
some of the people here are truly amazing.
as for the work, i had promised things yesterday and i didnt come through. i promised you johnny's survival story...
good ol' johnny was the neighbor of stormbuster's first project, and an adorer of Triple R. a veterinarian, johnny worked at a local clinic, and had been taking animals before the storm, either because their owners were unfit, or because they simply needed a home. in essence, over 50 animals were in that clinic, and katrina (the biyotch) knocked every brick to the ground. most of them would have surely died.
meanwhile, johnny hears the water, comes outside, SEES it rushing towards him, and runs into his house, closes it all up. of course that doesnt work, and within minutes, the house is filling up. johnny told us that everything in the house just started floating up to the ceiling. johnny hops on his fridge, and hears his dogs and cats barking and screaming...and this guy LOVES his animals. (he has names for every single one and somehow remembers them) so, hearing their distress, you would not believe what this guy does. brilliantly, he clears his cabinets and shelves, and starts stuffing cats and dogs in there. amazing.
the guy floats around on his fridge for 3 hours. i ask him if he sleeps, and he didnt for 3 days. i asked him if he ate and he didnt for 3 days. you know why? the bloody guy knifed open all the food he had in cans and fed them to his animals.
unfortunately, he lost about 3 of them, but was surprised to find out 10 of the animals had dissapeared. well, the last of them just returned a month and a half ago. amazing story. (see:amazing pictures)
i just realized i combined "johnny's survival story" and "the most pets ever" into one entry. oh well. i also said i would write about THE way to get people down here.
this will be better explained in the pictures soon to follow...(in the works is a site that will contain links to photo sites by all sorts of storm corps members)...BUT this is the way to get people down here. i mean. we have to appeal to people. we have to let everyone know this fact.
---when you wake up most days and feel off, but you dont know why...you have things you need and people you love, but there's something missing...it just may be the selfless act of helping others that makes you feel whole. coming down to a camp like Hands On (www.handsonproject.com) you are surrounded by people who are here SOLELY TO HELP. (well, the bonfire gets some play too). But in essence, when you are completely engulfed in the most gracious people you'll ever meet, who are helping some of the sweetest people you will ever meet, something changes. there just happens to be this strong feeling of worth that could potentially erase that empty one, whatever it is.
NOT to mention, puppies. working with ben's animal rescue crew means a LOT of puppies. this one place had 6 of them, all jumping on us, nibbling out hands, and yelping. i mean...how can you NOT come down to help?
its PUPPIES, people.
the rest of yesterday was pretty fantastic, feeding animals in need, meeting people who had taken strays in, and hearing the stories of the katrina victims. people who would NOT leave their homes. why? we heard. i tell you, theres nothing like these people thanking you for "saving their lives" or "giving them hope" or whatever phrase it may be. and when its in the southern accent, its even better.
....as for thursday (today), stormbusters, led by peggy and hannah from Hand's On, went out to gulfport, mississippi for some complete demolition. it was a complete gut, and the before and after pictures look like different homes. from 9:15 to 4 we took every belonging out of a home, ripped down every wall, pulled out insulation and countless nails, ripped out ceilings, removed an oven, and about 10 doors. amazing that with just a little bit of work, this house will be on the way to rebuilding.
she's a schoolteacher, and there were so many touching things found in this house. photo albums, a picture of her 1940s soldier father, one of her little girl. oddest thing was this area in between two pieces of drywall where TONS of random things had been in there for years. im guessing it was a time capsule, and we found the oldest fritos ive ever seen, a creepy doll's head, and many other randoms including a Herald Sun from 26 years ago tomorrow. weird stuff.
tomorrow we're spontanously heading to out to meet with the rest of the crew in foley, alabama. we'll work half days and have out closing ceremonies there. people have already started to cry, and there'll be more, im sure. more tomorrow? until then, book a ticket, yo.
--steve from londonderry, nh
Posted by: steve gintz | March 16, 2006 at 10:35 PM
Hey all you MTV Spring Breakers! This is Ben's mom ... from Triple R Pets. Thank you all (or ya'll) for coming down to Biloxi to help. Ben has said what an amazing group you are and he has been grateful for the help.
You are doing some real good for amzing people that NEED your help. Tell your friends, tell your parents, tell your teachers, tell anyone that will listen that HELP IS STILL NEEDED!
Katrina may be six months behind us now, but if you live along the Gulf Coast, it is still the first thing you think of when you wake up and walk out of your tent, or if you are lucky your trailer. It is the last thing you think of when you go to sleep and hope it won't be a cold night.
Triple R Pets will remain in Biloxi and surrounding communities as long as it takes to help rebuild. We know the value of helping animals goes far beyond the animal itself. The entire community has rallied around taking care of the abandoned pets on the street. Slowly a difference is being made.
You can track our progress at our web site, www.triplerpets.org.
Come back in the summer ... the communities will still need you ... and go away knowing that you have done something that will last a lifetime. Another storm can take away a roof you may have built, but the helping hand you provided to these residents, won't ever be forgotten!
Judy
Posted by: Judy Clark | March 17, 2006 at 12:30 AM
WOW! Today may have been one of the most physically painful days yet! We gutted another house and I can't imagine people having to do it alone! But Miss Mona and Mr. Loni Davis cooked my team and I lunch! Best southern BBQ ever! There were ribs, chicken, and burgers! The people down here are amazing! What seems to stand out most is the bright optimism and hope that glimmers through all the destruction and rubble! I never really understood what "southern hospitality" was until my trip down here to the Gulf Coast. I just want to say to everyone who lives down here...anyone who was a victim of hurricane Katrina, that you all have been the most gracious and inviting people I have ever met...and you all amaze me with your love and hope for the rebuilding of your community!
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