Hello from Louisiana. The Bucknell volunteers had a good day today although we got off to a late start. Although our group was ready to go to work gutting more homes in St. Bernard Parish at 7:15, we had been left off the Camp Hope schedule by mistake. Because we arrived on Thursday, not the usual arrival of Saturday, we got left out of the weekend conversion of work assignments. With over 200 volunteers here, and the Americorps staff on their break, it was easy to understand how things could fall through the cracks. The volunteer operation has a good organizational system in place, but you can imagine how difficult a task this could be - to organize teams of 12-14 people to get to a variety of locations with the proper tools, paperwork, and training needed to gut lots of homes. Already Habitat for Humanity and Camp Hope volunteers have gutted over 3,000 homes since June.
Gutting enables families to begin the process of rebuilding or to sell a shell of house that has been taken down to the studs to be built up again. So when two teams did get to work today on two different sites, our task was to clear out all belongings, and remove damaged dry wall, insulation, carpets, and even ceilings if necessary. One team finished work on a building that had been slated by the local government for demolition. St. Bernard Parish has taken the position that if property owners have not yet begun to gut their homes, they will be demolished so they don't pose a health hazard or unsightly blight for neighbors who are rebuilding and trying to make a come back. For the Bucknell folks who were perhaps able to save this home from a bulldozer and save some of the family possessions, there was a sense of accomplishment for their hard labor.
The second team worked on a 0% house which meant no work had been done since it had been flooded. The water line indicated it had stood in about 4 and a half feet of water. We were able to salvage some of the small belongings but made a huge pile of debris that filled the front yard with things to be thrown away. Although some work still remains at this site, we got about 90% of the job done and that felt good.
One of our group decided to work with another team of volunteers and reported her day was very satisfying. She helped hang dry wall in a house that had been gutted, treated for mold, and inspected for rebuilding.
Several of the students have commented on how much you can learn about a family through their belongings - a little girl's photo with Santa, a woman's nursing badge, and her son's college diploma, a set of golf clubs, and a collection of videos each tell little parts of a story. While it might seem a bit voyeuristic, it also makes our work more personal as we try to imagine all that these individuals have lost and take some comfort in being able to save some small mementos from the life they used to have.
Tomorrow we go back to this work that is hard physically and emotionally, but is also very rewarding. All of the people we meet in Louisiana, whether we are working directly for them or for others, have been very grateful for our efforts and repeatedly thank us for our help.
Being thankful seems like the right attitude as the year comes to a close and the Bucknell volunteers are very much aware of the blessings we have in our own lives, and the things we often take for granted.
Til tomorrow,
Janice Butler
Director of Service-Learning
