I got a hug today. It doesn’t sound like a big deal, but they’re pretty priceless here. Not priceless in the sense that they’re rare. They’re not rare – I’ve been hugged by more guys since I’ve been down here than I had been in my entire life. I mean priceless from the standpoint of how meaningful they are.My brother sent me a $25 American Express gift certificate not very long ago, telling me to give it to someone who I felt really could use it. Those things are as good as cash, and can be used just about anywhere. I’ve been talking regularly to one of the residents I’m working with, Ann Robin. Ann’s going through a hard time. She works at Andrew Jackson Elementary, as an assistant pre-Kindergarten teacher, and doesn’t make a lot of money. She’s living in a FEMA Trailer with her 16-year-old son. It’s cramped, I’ve been in there.
Ann’s also stressed because she has an appointment with a Road Home rep on Friday (10/26). Road Home is the federal reimbursement program that provides money back to pre-Katrina homeowners whose houses were destroyed or damaged. She was in a trailer before (not a FEMA Trailer, but a full-sized one). She lost the trailer home, and everything in it, during Katrina. She might get $10,000 from Road Home, if that. Knowing that’s she hurting for a few bucks and stressed over her meeting on Friday, I called her up at the school and told her I’d come by and give her a little something. She was so cute, when she came out to talk to me, she was talking a mile a minute – I cannot say enough times how therapeutic and helpful it is to the residents when you just listen to them and let them vent! – sharing her latest info and just looking up at me, saying she hopes things work out.
I gave her the Amex certificate, told her it was from my brother, and that I know it’s not much but that maybe she can go get some groceries with it. Of course, she thanked me countless times (the residents here are appreciative beyond description, in such a sincere and genuine way). Then she gave me and another volunteer who was with me a hug, just thanking us for caring, for being here, for calling her to check up on her. The little things, from a phone call to a hug….no paycheck will ever match them.
ANOTHER FAMILY: Sticking with my theme of wanting to introduce families that Erin and I will be working with through our non-profit (St. Bernard Recovery Corp.), I want to introduce Johnnie Sylve and her 11-year-old daughter Gabrielle. They live in a FEMA Trailer, outside their house, which is now gutted. Johnnie is a single mom who works full time at the Murphy’
s Oil refinery just a few miles up the road from their property. She recently bought another house, which was also destroyed and sits gutted, for her and her daughter to move into. Her older son, married and in his early 30s, is going to take the former house.
Johnnie is very inspirational. She’s adamant about not accepting handouts, she’s adamant about working and saving whatever money she can, and she’s adamant about providing the best that she can for her daughter. I am going to help Johnnie try to get help from the United Way for assistance with contractors and materials to rebuild her house, and then I hope to provide them with some furniture and other household goods.
Finally, I’m off to Jacksonville, Fl, this weekend to get another truck load of donated items (with maybe a 3-hour detour to go to a certain football game between a certain school in Florida and a certain school in Georgia, but who's keeping track of that stuff). This load won’t be as big as the one we brought down from up north a few weeks back, but it’s still a good amount and very worthwhile to add to what we already have. My dad did a great job spreading the word, using his contacts and establishing new ones to gather this stuff up. On November 10, SBRC will be having a distribution of all this stuff to the families we’re working with.
