This past Saturday, November 10, the St. Bernard Recovery Corporation held its first widespread distribution to help out some of the families in St. Bernard Parish. After gathering a couple of UHaul trucks worth of stuff, as well as combinations of other things picked up both locally and from afar, almost all of it donated, we were able to distribute an array of things to over 30 families. At least 100 people showed up, probably closer to 130 or so, including children.Furniture, household goods, beds, linens, towels, sheets, blankets, clothes, shoes, toys and much more were all moved from storage to people who need them. The biggest hit were the beds. I was able to pick up about 30 beds from the Holiday Inn of downtown New Orleans, and with t
he financial struggles many people have as they move back into a home or apartment, they were very much in need. It worked out great, as I was able to get at least one bed to every family that SBRC has been working with to date. And I'll likely be getting more. We were also able to raffle off a 30" color TV.The residents were grateful, and oh so patient as we worked our way through a very unscientific process to get them what they needed. In the end, it was a lot of work but very worth it. As one of the residents told me as we wound things down, "there will be a good number of people sleeping better that night than they did the night before". That's all I need to hear.
