First House

The Baton Rouge HfH affiliate completed their first house of the year. The LSU Greek house started last Saturday and we finished it this afternoon. Yes, their are a few punch-list items, but the dedication is tomorrow and we hope to get Barbara in her house in the next couple of weeks.

It was an eventful week: we had a volunteer who returned to us from North Carolina to help us last Saturday and today, neighbors who were less than inviting, a homeowner that can make anyone smile, three daily shifts of LSU fraternities and sororities and a team of NCCC learning finish carpentry.

While it is no secret I've not quite found my place, it was good to come back and work with two of my very favorite co-workers, Mike Bryant and Tom Pruyn. Mike has been my supervisor and friend since I've come to this affiliate, and this week he performed the duties of house-leader for the very first time. The proof is in the product - the house was completed on schedule and Mike grew into his new role and exceeded any expectations anyone could have had. He met every challenge with a smile - the house, the homeowner and the volunteers benefited from his new role.

If anyone could ever choose a mentor, they should choose Mr. Tom. He has been with the Baton Rouge affiliate since it began and has accumulated more years of construction experience than I've been alive. You will not meet a kinder soul with more wisdom and dignity, nor one with such concern for justice and tolerance in our world. He continually surprises me with his grace and sincerity.

It has been my distinct privilege to work with these two. They have certainly helped make this experience worth it.

I won't attend Sunday's dedication. I'm leaving tomorrow morning to return to St. Bernard for a couple of days. I'm not working - I'm just taking time off and seeing people I miss, talking about the future of the project, and trying to gather enough information to make my next decision.

Thank you

I just re-read my last two posts, after the several emails and comments I got asking me what's up.

Two things strike me as extremely weird: first, those who knew me before I left on my adventure (usually I call it my journey) may remember how extremely private I can be - and then here I am living out this adventure in full view of both of the people that read it. Second, I'm ok with it.

I'm glad people are interested in post-Katrina/Rita Louisiana, Habitat for Humanity or me. In fact, I'm shocked and amazed that some people have found this site by accident or have just continued to follow it. In fact, one person found it on the Internet and then I met him at Camp Premier. How weird is that?

I'm not doing any of this anymore because I want to, I feel like I have to. After my experience in St. Bernard Parish, I think I'm catching my breath before the next thing. Now, I'm not certain what it is next, but it needs to be important, and make a difference. I finally left St. Bernard because I believe I did make a difference, but it took a big chunk of me to do it. Maybe if I get my second wind I'll go back.

The common theme I hear from those who have come to Camp Premier and gone back to the world is that they've been changed somehow. No one really can describe how they've changed, but they have and often it seems they're missing something they didn't even know they had to lose. I believe that when you meet and work with good people for a good cause, that everything else seems less important. Maybe it's just a new perspective. A rebirth? It definitely can be spiritual. I think my change has been more resolve.

Anyway, I'll be in Baton Rouge for at least the week. We're finishing new and old business right now - building a new one this week in fact, and finishing ones that have been sitting too long. A team from AmeriCorps NCCC (National Civilian Community Corps) is here and they're doing what they do, getting things done. That's there motto by the way.

If you want to do something good for the country, then write your Congressman or woman and your Senator and ask them to reinstate funding for NCCC. The St. Bernard Recovery Project wouldn't exist without them (69,000 lives they are directly affecting), there are a great number of teams in the Gulf region helping with hurricane recovery (I've met and worked with six so far and the Washington Post reports that at least half of their number are in this region at any given time), and they are our nation's motivated young leaders. Our President decided that $22M was too much to spend on the 1100 18-24 year olds and the 80 staff that support them.

If you're on the fence about volunteering because of time, work or family - then please write a letter and endorse someone doing it on your behalf. They're only paid $13/day and they do more for that money than you can imagine.

I urge you to visit one of the following sites for more information, links to sample letters and addresses/fax numbers:

• AmeriCorps Alums
• Save*NCCC

Taking a break

So, I left St. Bernard Parish Friday night.

It was a long but good week. By the end of the week, over 2,000 volunteers went to work in St. Bernard in one day plus one former Presidential hopeful, Sen. John Edwards. He even came to the camp and took a tour of Camp Premier. Hopefully, he can help renew the funding that is scheduled to dry up on April 11 or help motivate someone to take over funding the camp from the state.

I believe the house count is close to if not over 600 houses as of Friday.

I don't know if I'm going back or not. I want to, but I'm tired. I'm not even certain I'm welcome, when it came time for me to leave - I just ran. I came back to Baton Rouge to work on a blitz build, and we're into the third day of it. I didn't work much on Saturday - I was there, but didn't work much. Not only that, but I learned that one of our homeowners isn't living in her house yet, and she probably should be. I feel as though if I had been around living up to my obligations there, that maybe she wouldn't sometimes have to sleep in her car.

All of these experiences are taking from me, and not giving back much. I've chosen this year, and it breaks my heart that others didn't make this choice - these things were just dumped in their lap. I'm learning that one person has limitations and that it takes more than just one-on-one experiences to really accomplish anything. I'm tired of goodbyes. I'm tired of feeling helpless. There were very similar feelings of frustration that brought me to live this year as I'm trying.

There's good work in St. Bernard. There are good people there too. There are also normal people - people that you run into every day with the same frustrations and shortcomings as the rest of us. But that doesn't mean they don't need help. The same can be said of the work in Baton Rouge, or anywhere I'm certain. Just as I learned I don't have to leave the country to help those in need, I don't get to choose those that need help, and sometimes it's not just the people we're trying to help that need it, but so do those of us who are trying to do it.

If you're reading this merely because you're interested in St. Bernard Parish - I'll see if I can stay current on the house count and numbers of volunteers and keep you up to date if I don't go back. I'm not promising anything though, not to anyone. I don't know if I'm staying in Baton Rouge after this week, going back to St. Bernard Parish, or just going for a very long motorcycle ride. But, I will live up to my commitment to continue to work from my heart - even if it kills me.

A Bunch of Progress

Sorry that I haven't updated this in a while - it's not productive to wait this long because there's been so much that I'm afraid this post will be long-winded, and boring. It's been difficult convincing myself that administrative, operational and logistic details of Camp Premier are anything anyone would want to read (much less do!) Argh. Bear with me as a sort this out...

First, I made my first trip back to civilization last week. I returned to Baton Rouge for almost 18 hours to claim three weeks of unopened mail (oh yeah, I got guilted into working Saturday also). The trip alone was eye-opening. Anyone reading this who's worked at this camp may find this sentiment familiar. Returning to traffic, stores, people, work and bureaucracy is a surreal experience. I had forgotten there was a real world out there where people had electricity, Sonic or even indoor plumbing. Today I cheated and drove to Metairie so that I could buy some new glasses (I lost my only pair in a debris pile), and I went to Burger King. Good grief, how good it was to have a vanilla shake. Ten minutes later I felt guilty because I did.

Anyway, so in Baton Rouge I got my first thank you card from a St. Bernard Parish homeowner, who wanted to thank my husband and me for all of our hard work. I'm glad I had that point of confusion to laugh about so that I didn't just break down and cry when I got it. Not that I want anyone reading this to think I'm some sentimental twit, but living here, sharing this grief and celebration and facing these daily challenges has left me occasionally fragile.

Just yesterday, I was calling this place my home.

This week, we completed about 170 houses with about 60 teams. I think we're around 350 now. Those volunteers reading this who were here when we were a one bus operation should know that now we're reliably scheduling and dispatching about 20 buses/day. Next week, it's going to be closer to 40, maybe even 50 as we have about 1100 HfH volunteers arriving, along with the 200 or so Samaritan's Purse and 60 AmeriCorps NCCC. I think we're scheduling for about 100 teams. This is after a bit of fanfare (and confusion). Probably you've read in the news about President Bush touring the area (I think he missed us. I had a funny idea about a where's the President post. I would walk along the French Quarter and take photos at Café Du Monde, the River Walk and Bourbon Street, but that would take time and effort of which I have none extra to give), and then Franklin and Billy Graham are here, and even broadcasted live from Camp Premier this past Wednesday night. All of a sudden, we seem to be getting a lot of federal support - this just hours after we had to tell 600 HfH volunteers that Camp Premier couldn't provide housing for them - and promptly called them back after we got a different story today. Argh, the complexity of a fragile partnership between the federal government, the parish government, service and volunteer organizations.

I hope the tone of this doesn't leave the wrong impression. I've received encouragement from volunteers who've assured me that they felt productive, and they're surprised at both the accommodations and the amount they've been able to accomplish. Federal employees have been asking us how we're doing what we're doing. Where's our SOP? What's been documented? I don't know if they want to tell us how we've been doing it wrong or (more likely) how the heck have we been able to do what we've done so far. I choose to believe the latter, because it makes me feel as though we're doing something right. I've even heard this organization proposed as a model. Heh, that just makes me laugh. Still, it's cool.

I don't even know if I have a point right now (I definitely shouldn't be trying to write this). I just wanted everyone to know that volunteers are coming and it will be steady for a while. It's a cool thing to see how much this has grown.

Sorry for all of the parenthetical asides. Writing was never my strong suit (did I just use a cliche? woops, sorry for that also), and I'm just kind of journaling right now - although this is not supposed to be a journal. I promise, I'll do better next time.

Soon, I'm going to do a post on how awesome AmeriCorps NCCC is and how they are the organization that has ensured the continued success of this operation. Until then, just trust me on that one.

If you're still reading this (I feel sorry for you), I did find the Gold Star Diner and talked to BJ, the owner. He plans to open a week from today, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. I want to go eat there (I don't care what's he's serving) and then take a nap.

You can't make this stuff up

Monday morning, I sent over one-hundred volunteers to an area where the St. Bernard Fire Department had responded to a fire. This afternoon, as I was waiting for nearly three-hundred volunteers to return from a long day of house-gutting, a fire broke out across from Camp Premier. This week, I've taken a break from gutting houses, and I'm trying to help the four Habitat volunteers who have coordinated us for the past three weeks by sharing some of their responsibilities. It's been a logistical nightmare scheduling resources with FEMA and planning for the hundreds of volunteers who have wanted to come help. But, we're getting better every day.

I've tried to keep my emotion and political leaning out of this, and just relay the experience as much as possible. I know this isn't a late-breaking news site, but this is too hard not to share:
Video Shows Bush Heard Dire Warnings Ahead of Katrina.