Volunteers are still desperately needed for hurricane disaster relief efforts in southeast Louisiana – please consider taking a long weekend (or more, if you can) to come down and help out!
I’ve included below a few photos from this past week, and then some info re: volunteer needs and opportunities – please be sure to scroll down and read!
First, the photos…
All that’s left of an office building, right next to where we’re set up at in the city of LaPlace – this kind of damage goes for hundreds of square miles:
As of this morning, authorities say it will be at least Sep 17 before power is restored in LaPlace, and much longer than that for many remote areas (such as Jean Lafitte):
A city official from the town of Jean Lafitte took me out in his 4 wheel drive on a personal tour of the hurricane damage. Parts of Jean Lafitte are still under several feet of water – the damage is widespread and catastrophic:
Also in Jean Lafitte – truck and trailer completely flipped over by the wind…
…and a shrimp boat thrown completely out of the water, up onto dry land:
Volunteer needs and opportunities…
I am often asked what exactly the volunteers do on these kinds of trips. If you have any special skills in the areas of carpentry, construction, or tree removal that’s awesome – but even if you’re completely unskilled (like me!) – there’s still a boatload of volunteer needs. This is by no means an exhaustive list, but here are a few examples:
If you’re willing to help out, there are two possible points of contact I can personally recommend, as I’ve been working with both of them frequently since 2011:
1) The Churches of Christ Disaster Response Team (DRT). Best way to see updates is through their FB page (https://www.facebook.com/Churches-of-Christ-Disaster-Response-Team-122118477949481), and you can register to volunteer through their website at https://www.churchesofchristdrt.org/.
As of yesterday, DRT is set up in Jean Lafitte, at the special request of the mayor and a state senator. A message from DRT, updated at 3pm today:
**URGENT NEED** We are in DESPERATE NEED of Volunteers. There is NOTHING open anywhere near here, so the community is in serious need of any help possible. If you are able to help it will be GREATLY Appreciated! We need MANY volunteers. PLEASE consider coming and working with us! These families NEED our help. We will be doing laundry for the families that have lost so much. We will also be cleaning up and repairing homes, distributing supplies, and cooking for the community. YOU ARE NEEDED!!
-DRT
2) The Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort (DRE). DRE’s primary mission is bringing in trucks filled with needed supplies, but they also coordinate volunteer activities at certain locations. Right now they are staging things out of the LaPlace Church of Christ, and working in multiple areas according to where the greatest needs are. Best point of contact is David and Jaime Green, DRE coordinators currently on site at LaPlace (David is also the minister for the Elysian Fields Church of Christ in New Orleans). Jaime’s cell is 985-379-8944, and she’s also posting updates periodically on their FB page at https://www.facebook.com/KeepItRealGNO.
Again, I sincerely hope you’ll consider doing whatever you can to lend a hand to these efforts.
