Report Card - 2005
It is impossible to comprehend, in the comfort of our own homes, what it must be like to lose everything in a single day.
On Monday, August 29th, just after 10:00 a.m. local time, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, with the eastern eye wall directly over Pearlington, MS - sparing New Orleans the direct hit. Every home, building and vehicle in this town of 1700 was destroyed. If that wasn’t enough, a storm surge travelled 4.5 miles inland and drowned what little was left under 12 feet of the most toxic stew imaginable.
This site is dedicated to the First Responders and to all others who, in the remaining four months of the year, adopted Pearlington and made an enormous difference in the relief, recovery and now, the rebuilding, of this bayou town. Together, they stand as a model of cooperation, fellowship, courage and foresight and deserve to be recognized as a unique coalition of sovereign disaster relief agencies pulling together for the common good.
The First Outside Responders were: Paula Buhr, R.N., the Texas nurse who cajoled and helicoptered her way into Pearlington first, just a day or two after the storm; the Walton County, Fla. Public Works Dept., under the direction of Jeff McVay, who first took leadership in setting up the Recovery Center under unimaginable circumstances; George Bates and the Presbytery of Mississippi, Presbyterian Church, who were the first faith-based volunteers to reach Pearlington less than a week after Katrina. I, myself, reached Pearlington from Ontario, Canada on Sept. 12 and worked for two weeks, returning to manage the Recovery and Resource Center for the month of November. There were many others and as their stories reach me, I will post them here.
For many of us, our hope is to create an informal Coalition of Disaster Relief Agencies (CODRA) that will continue to work cooperatively in Pearlington and elsewhere; supporting, inspiring and assisting each other, regardless of our individual missions. In this unique manner and with the common good always as our focus, the non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) listed below will accomplish all our goals and establish a model that stands in counterpoint to the official, governmental response. Whether or not each group is a religious organization we are all, clearly, faith-based groups: that is, with faith in ourselves, each other and in The One who called us all to serve.
This, then, is what can be accomplished when ordinary citizens of the world choose to make a difference. As George Bates has said: “WORKING TOGETHER WORKS” and there is a great deal more to be done:
ORGANIZATIONS:
● Water Missions International - George Greene IV, Co-founder: Pump Project:
Through individual and corporate donations organized by WMI, 400 pumps from Sta-Rite and Myers Pump companies, divisions of Pentair Corp., were received and installed in Pearlington between October 24th and first week of December. Of these, 394 were installed, six were defective.
Approximately 50 pump installation volunteers donated their time, energy and compassion to the residents of Pearlington, Waveland and Bay St. Louis and points in between. Charleston, SC Public Works and Mt. Pleasant, SC Public Works Depts. provided many professional pump installation people from their respective organizations for up to two week periods as well as pipe and pipe fittings to accomplish the task. Other volunteers were Bev and Ed Wentz who were the advance team that organized and executed the unprecedented pump program on October 18, 2005 and Michael Boyce (WMI employee) and Dick Johnson, a volunteer who took over from us when we left on November 13, 2005.
Without the vision of Water Missions International and early input from such individuals as Jake Earl, P.E. and Conrad Velasco, this program would not have gotten off the ground. These 394 pump systems had a total value of approx. $157,600. plus all of the many hundreds of hours of labour and other costs involved;
● Carbondale, Co. Fire Department/Katrina Relief Fund:
▸ has cleared more than 400 lots of downed trees, deadfall and rubbish to allow for the placement of FEMA trailers;
▸ provided an ambulance, filled with valuable medications, to the free Clinic located at the Recovery & Resource Center;
▸ provided, through their “Red Ball Express” program, thousands of dollars in goods and material for the Pearl*Mart distribution Center;
▸ provided an outstanding Christmas party for the children of Pearlington;
▸ raised more than $86,000. in their efforts to assist the school, the town and the people of Pearlington.
● Loving Neighbors - Moe Grzelakowski, Chair: a network of 13 church congregations in Hinsdale, Oak Brook and Clarendon Hills. IL has shipped to Pearlington alone:
▸ 260 Home Starter (Trailer) Kits (@ 500. ea. = $130,000.)
▸ 10 generators (@ $700 ea. = $7,000.)
▸ 1 washer dryer ($650.)
▸ 25 TV's ($100 ea. = $2,500.)
● Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi - Greg Wolfe, Disaster Recovery Director:
Since we first came to Pearlington in October, 130 volunteers have come in 12 Mission teams from at least seven states to help in our ministry. These groups, from churches, campus ministry groups and families, have contributed over 2500 labor hours in Pearlington and surrounding areas.
These volunteers have worked on over 40 houses, including:
▸ emptied 4 houses of ruined belongings;
▸ emptied and gutted 17 houses;
▸ built 3 storage sheds;
▸ salvaged lumber from 3 houses;
▸ cleared downed trees from 3 yards;
▸ provided at least 39 Home Starter Kits for families moving into FEMA trailers;
▸ helped "Sheds for Jesus" group build several small storage/laundry sheds;
▸ helped the Pearl*Mart Distribution Center with stocking, organizing tasks;
▸ helped assemble and install well pumps for dozens of families;
▸ cleaned up the shelter, camping, and eating areas at the Pearlington Recovery Center;
▸ helped staff the free clinic;
▸ brought several truckloads of food, medical supplies, winter coats, blankets, Christmas toys, and other goods for the Pearl*Mart;
▸ done many other tasks as needed.
● Presbytery of Mississippi, Presbyterian Church (USA) - George Bates, Disaster Recovery Coordinator:
We helped set up the shelter, the distribution center now affectionately known as Pearl-Mart, put in a water purification system, and delivered dozens of generators and chain saws. “We hope to have a volunteer camp located in the community up and running by January 1. We have access to heavy equipment.”
● Sheds for Jesus and Conrad Katrina Aid - Conrad Velasco, Founder:
▸ constructed 122 sheds to provide storage (and in some cases, sleeping space) for the people of Pearlington;
▸ provided and installed 72 water pumps;
▸ provided and built “Holly’s Library.”
● Dog Soldiers of Atlanta, GA (Men’s Division International) - Tim Goodnow:
▸ participated in the building of approx 35-36 sheds;
▸ removed trees and debris from approximately 15 homes;
▸ assisted homeowners in cleaning out 5 homes;
▸ delivered car-less residents to their homes, picked up medicine and delivered it to residents, picked up residents and brought them to the showers/medical clinic; delivered ice, food, clothing, set up tents in residents yards, gassed and oiled up generators and chain saws and delivered them to residents;
▸ handed out toys and stuffed animals to countless children;
▸ unloaded several trucks of supplies, food, clothing and toys at Pearl-Mart;
▸ set up the Distribution Center on September 11th;
▸ collected and delivered 350 school book bags for elementary age children;
▸ arranged for 19 misplaced geese to be moved from Gin Rd to Colonel Barnes Lake;
▸ delivered a man in need of surgery to Gulfport Memorial Hospital;
▸ mowed yards in preparation for FEMA trailers;
▸ hung the bulletin Boards on fence outside Pearl*Mart;
▸ assisted with the securing of many water pumps, and some installation of them;
▸ raised $14,750. With $5,000. spent on pumps and $4,800. spent on shed materials;
▸ with the Parkway Presbyterian Church, delivered 2 large U-haul trucks full of clothes, food, water, etc., along with a 40' bus full of items and willing spirits;
▸ the number of Dog Soldiers and associates that travelled to Mississippi is 50 strong with several hundred hours of volunteer time.
● Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis - Char Ransom, Tom Eickhoff and others:
I was a part of the 20 volunteers in Pearlington. Ten of our number stayed and worked in shelters in Baton Rouge, but did join us for two days before we had to leave. The other ten spent the greater share of 2 weeks in Pearlington. The majority of our time was spent organizing and serving in the Distribution Center. Our guys bought lumber and made shelves so that organization would be more efficient. They also made racks for the clothing. We were well under way to getting things organized, when Hurricane Rita forced us to leave. Some of the guys went into the neighborhood and helped remove trees from yards and junk from homes.
● Doug & Donna Case and Andrea & Terry Parrish and other Juneau Co. WI businesses have donated goods and materials in excess of $5,000.
“As a result of our fundraising efforts in Juneau County Wisconsin we were able to fill the pickup truck with can goods and other supplies and with money left over. After delivering to Pearl*Mart mid-November we drove to Hattiesburg and purchased more items from your most wanted list and delivered the next day. After seeing first hand the conditions in Pearlington we vowed to raise more money. When we returned to Wisconsin with photos to show people, we gathered another $250. within a few days. We have family that live in Hattiesburg and we sent them the money. They purchased fresh fruit, milk and meat and delivered it just before Thanksgiving.”
● Dream School International - Jon S. White, Founder:
▸ created, and Nancy Semple delivered, 36 “Hope Chests” to children and their families in Pearlington;
▸ provided counselling, support and resources for many people in the community suffering from the manifestations of Post Traumatic Stress;
▸ provided management of the Pearl*Mart (Sept.) and of the Recovery & Resource Center (Nov.)
▸ created a web log (blog) for Pearlington and consistently posted a current Needs List;
▸ advocated on behalf of the citizens of Pearlington.
INDIVIDUALS:
● Nancy Semple, Ontario, Canada:
▸ created and delivered Hope Chests to 36 families
▸ raised $3,500. through Rotary and $2,000. through DSI
▸ assisted in Pearl*Mart and in the field
● Eileen Powers, Ontario, Canada:
▸ shed building - 17 hours
▸ Resource Survey - 20 hours
▸ water tank assembly - 60 hours
▸ mucking out houses - 7 hours
▸ participated in the building of “Holly’s Library”
● Leslie H. - Binghamton, NY:
▸ got the Bay St. Louis PO to deliver relief boxes to Pearlington's Elementary school on a weekly basis;
▸ have found about a half dozen teams to make the trip down to Pearlington to help with the building of the transitional homes; one team is bringing approx $40,000. in donations (so far) with $3,000. in tools (coming in March);
▸ have spoken to +/- a dozen schools and convinced them to send their fund raising efforts to Habitat International earmarked for Hancock County - totals in the range of $20,000.
▸ helped locate grants for New Hope Construction, Walton County Habitat, Center for Prevention of Child Abuse and the Humane Society of South MS.;
▸ established a blog to help those who can't/won't go to assist directly - to assist indirectly with very simple and relatively low cost, painless ways to make a huge difference;
▸ my sister and I have made and sent 2 dozen t-shirts for the Hancock County School's cooking staff - who lost everything;
▸ located possible housing for the Center For The Prevention of Child Abuse.
● Dr. Ellyn Shander, MD, Psychiatrist:
I worked the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the clinic. I brought about $500. dollars worth of medicines on that trip.
On Monday, August 29th, just after 10:00 a.m. local time, Hurricane Katrina made landfall, with the eastern eye wall directly over Pearlington, MS - sparing New Orleans the direct hit. Every home, building and vehicle in this town of 1700 was destroyed. If that wasn’t enough, a storm surge travelled 4.5 miles inland and drowned what little was left under 12 feet of the most toxic stew imaginable.
This site is dedicated to the First Responders and to all others who, in the remaining four months of the year, adopted Pearlington and made an enormous difference in the relief, recovery and now, the rebuilding, of this bayou town. Together, they stand as a model of cooperation, fellowship, courage and foresight and deserve to be recognized as a unique coalition of sovereign disaster relief agencies pulling together for the common good.
The First Outside Responders were: Paula Buhr, R.N., the Texas nurse who cajoled and helicoptered her way into Pearlington first, just a day or two after the storm; the Walton County, Fla. Public Works Dept., under the direction of Jeff McVay, who first took leadership in setting up the Recovery Center under unimaginable circumstances; George Bates and the Presbytery of Mississippi, Presbyterian Church, who were the first faith-based volunteers to reach Pearlington less than a week after Katrina. I, myself, reached Pearlington from Ontario, Canada on Sept. 12 and worked for two weeks, returning to manage the Recovery and Resource Center for the month of November. There were many others and as their stories reach me, I will post them here.
For many of us, our hope is to create an informal Coalition of Disaster Relief Agencies (CODRA) that will continue to work cooperatively in Pearlington and elsewhere; supporting, inspiring and assisting each other, regardless of our individual missions. In this unique manner and with the common good always as our focus, the non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) listed below will accomplish all our goals and establish a model that stands in counterpoint to the official, governmental response. Whether or not each group is a religious organization we are all, clearly, faith-based groups: that is, with faith in ourselves, each other and in The One who called us all to serve.
This, then, is what can be accomplished when ordinary citizens of the world choose to make a difference. As George Bates has said: “WORKING TOGETHER WORKS” and there is a great deal more to be done:
ORGANIZATIONS:
● Water Missions International - George Greene IV, Co-founder: Pump Project:
Through individual and corporate donations organized by WMI, 400 pumps from Sta-Rite and Myers Pump companies, divisions of Pentair Corp., were received and installed in Pearlington between October 24th and first week of December. Of these, 394 were installed, six were defective.
Approximately 50 pump installation volunteers donated their time, energy and compassion to the residents of Pearlington, Waveland and Bay St. Louis and points in between. Charleston, SC Public Works and Mt. Pleasant, SC Public Works Depts. provided many professional pump installation people from their respective organizations for up to two week periods as well as pipe and pipe fittings to accomplish the task. Other volunteers were Bev and Ed Wentz who were the advance team that organized and executed the unprecedented pump program on October 18, 2005 and Michael Boyce (WMI employee) and Dick Johnson, a volunteer who took over from us when we left on November 13, 2005.
Without the vision of Water Missions International and early input from such individuals as Jake Earl, P.E. and Conrad Velasco, this program would not have gotten off the ground. These 394 pump systems had a total value of approx. $157,600. plus all of the many hundreds of hours of labour and other costs involved;
● Carbondale, Co. Fire Department/Katrina Relief Fund:
▸ has cleared more than 400 lots of downed trees, deadfall and rubbish to allow for the placement of FEMA trailers;
▸ provided an ambulance, filled with valuable medications, to the free Clinic located at the Recovery & Resource Center;
▸ provided, through their “Red Ball Express” program, thousands of dollars in goods and material for the Pearl*Mart distribution Center;
▸ provided an outstanding Christmas party for the children of Pearlington;
▸ raised more than $86,000. in their efforts to assist the school, the town and the people of Pearlington.
● Loving Neighbors - Moe Grzelakowski, Chair: a network of 13 church congregations in Hinsdale, Oak Brook and Clarendon Hills. IL has shipped to Pearlington alone:
▸ 260 Home Starter (Trailer) Kits (@ 500. ea. = $130,000.)
▸ 10 generators (@ $700 ea. = $7,000.)
▸ 1 washer dryer ($650.)
▸ 25 TV's ($100 ea. = $2,500.)
● Cooperative Baptist Fellowship of Mississippi - Greg Wolfe, Disaster Recovery Director:
Since we first came to Pearlington in October, 130 volunteers have come in 12 Mission teams from at least seven states to help in our ministry. These groups, from churches, campus ministry groups and families, have contributed over 2500 labor hours in Pearlington and surrounding areas.
These volunteers have worked on over 40 houses, including:
▸ emptied 4 houses of ruined belongings;
▸ emptied and gutted 17 houses;
▸ built 3 storage sheds;
▸ salvaged lumber from 3 houses;
▸ cleared downed trees from 3 yards;
▸ provided at least 39 Home Starter Kits for families moving into FEMA trailers;
▸ helped "Sheds for Jesus" group build several small storage/laundry sheds;
▸ helped the Pearl*Mart Distribution Center with stocking, organizing tasks;
▸ helped assemble and install well pumps for dozens of families;
▸ cleaned up the shelter, camping, and eating areas at the Pearlington Recovery Center;
▸ helped staff the free clinic;
▸ brought several truckloads of food, medical supplies, winter coats, blankets, Christmas toys, and other goods for the Pearl*Mart;
▸ done many other tasks as needed.
● Presbytery of Mississippi, Presbyterian Church (USA) - George Bates, Disaster Recovery Coordinator:
We helped set up the shelter, the distribution center now affectionately known as Pearl-Mart, put in a water purification system, and delivered dozens of generators and chain saws. “We hope to have a volunteer camp located in the community up and running by January 1. We have access to heavy equipment.”
● Sheds for Jesus and Conrad Katrina Aid - Conrad Velasco, Founder:
▸ constructed 122 sheds to provide storage (and in some cases, sleeping space) for the people of Pearlington;
▸ provided and installed 72 water pumps;
▸ provided and built “Holly’s Library.”
● Dog Soldiers of Atlanta, GA (Men’s Division International) - Tim Goodnow:
▸ participated in the building of approx 35-36 sheds;
▸ removed trees and debris from approximately 15 homes;
▸ assisted homeowners in cleaning out 5 homes;
▸ delivered car-less residents to their homes, picked up medicine and delivered it to residents, picked up residents and brought them to the showers/medical clinic; delivered ice, food, clothing, set up tents in residents yards, gassed and oiled up generators and chain saws and delivered them to residents;
▸ handed out toys and stuffed animals to countless children;
▸ unloaded several trucks of supplies, food, clothing and toys at Pearl-Mart;
▸ set up the Distribution Center on September 11th;
▸ collected and delivered 350 school book bags for elementary age children;
▸ arranged for 19 misplaced geese to be moved from Gin Rd to Colonel Barnes Lake;
▸ delivered a man in need of surgery to Gulfport Memorial Hospital;
▸ mowed yards in preparation for FEMA trailers;
▸ hung the bulletin Boards on fence outside Pearl*Mart;
▸ assisted with the securing of many water pumps, and some installation of them;
▸ raised $14,750. With $5,000. spent on pumps and $4,800. spent on shed materials;
▸ with the Parkway Presbyterian Church, delivered 2 large U-haul trucks full of clothes, food, water, etc., along with a 40' bus full of items and willing spirits;
▸ the number of Dog Soldiers and associates that travelled to Mississippi is 50 strong with several hundred hours of volunteer time.
● Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis - Char Ransom, Tom Eickhoff and others:
I was a part of the 20 volunteers in Pearlington. Ten of our number stayed and worked in shelters in Baton Rouge, but did join us for two days before we had to leave. The other ten spent the greater share of 2 weeks in Pearlington. The majority of our time was spent organizing and serving in the Distribution Center. Our guys bought lumber and made shelves so that organization would be more efficient. They also made racks for the clothing. We were well under way to getting things organized, when Hurricane Rita forced us to leave. Some of the guys went into the neighborhood and helped remove trees from yards and junk from homes.
● Doug & Donna Case and Andrea & Terry Parrish and other Juneau Co. WI businesses have donated goods and materials in excess of $5,000.
“As a result of our fundraising efforts in Juneau County Wisconsin we were able to fill the pickup truck with can goods and other supplies and with money left over. After delivering to Pearl*Mart mid-November we drove to Hattiesburg and purchased more items from your most wanted list and delivered the next day. After seeing first hand the conditions in Pearlington we vowed to raise more money. When we returned to Wisconsin with photos to show people, we gathered another $250. within a few days. We have family that live in Hattiesburg and we sent them the money. They purchased fresh fruit, milk and meat and delivered it just before Thanksgiving.”
● Dream School International - Jon S. White, Founder:
▸ created, and Nancy Semple delivered, 36 “Hope Chests” to children and their families in Pearlington;
▸ provided counselling, support and resources for many people in the community suffering from the manifestations of Post Traumatic Stress;
▸ provided management of the Pearl*Mart (Sept.) and of the Recovery & Resource Center (Nov.)
▸ created a web log (blog) for Pearlington and consistently posted a current Needs List;
▸ advocated on behalf of the citizens of Pearlington.
INDIVIDUALS:
● Nancy Semple, Ontario, Canada:
▸ created and delivered Hope Chests to 36 families
▸ raised $3,500. through Rotary and $2,000. through DSI
▸ assisted in Pearl*Mart and in the field
● Eileen Powers, Ontario, Canada:
▸ shed building - 17 hours
▸ Resource Survey - 20 hours
▸ water tank assembly - 60 hours
▸ mucking out houses - 7 hours
▸ participated in the building of “Holly’s Library”
● Leslie H. - Binghamton, NY:
▸ got the Bay St. Louis PO to deliver relief boxes to Pearlington's Elementary school on a weekly basis;
▸ have found about a half dozen teams to make the trip down to Pearlington to help with the building of the transitional homes; one team is bringing approx $40,000. in donations (so far) with $3,000. in tools (coming in March);
▸ have spoken to +/- a dozen schools and convinced them to send their fund raising efforts to Habitat International earmarked for Hancock County - totals in the range of $20,000.
▸ helped locate grants for New Hope Construction, Walton County Habitat, Center for Prevention of Child Abuse and the Humane Society of South MS.;
▸ established a blog to help those who can't/won't go to assist directly - to assist indirectly with very simple and relatively low cost, painless ways to make a huge difference;
▸ my sister and I have made and sent 2 dozen t-shirts for the Hancock County School's cooking staff - who lost everything;
▸ located possible housing for the Center For The Prevention of Child Abuse.
● Dr. Ellyn Shander, MD, Psychiatrist:
I worked the Thanksgiving holiday weekend at the clinic. I brought about $500. dollars worth of medicines on that trip.
posted by Jon White @ 8:35 AM
8 Comments:
OperationEden should be listed in this blog as you are in it - My son began this effort before any of the first responders even made it to Pearlington in order to help Me and his little brother. Actually We are the very first responders having manned the only hurricane red cross shelter in Hancock County along with my fellow state of ms employees before, during and for 4 days after Katrina till the red cross finally showed up and told us we could leave not so nicely. We are Pearlington homeowners who have been denied the rebuilding grants - I did not leave Pearlington until Sept. 23 after falling on my face over downed trees on my property. We could not even get ROE help because the property was bought by my son for us to live in - I was and am repaying the loan my son gave me (our mortgage)but the army corp of engineers and fema are treating us like I am a renter and my son is the rich landlord from New York!!!!
I still am employed by the State of Mfississippi Dept. of Human Services in the Child Support Enforcement Office and soon after losing my home and everything in it - I will lose my job I worked so hard to get and I love because I have no place to live in my own home town.
My son Clayton Cubitt has helped my town with his blog from the very beginning and has helped further your efforts with his photos and blog site.
NOW WE NEED HELP from You - I don't want to lose my job - We are displaced in North Carolina and are being helped by some beautiful people here but I am in agony over being displaced and losing everything we worked so hard to get for my old age.
I need my land cleared, I need a water pump, I need a shed, I need a Habitat home or a Fema trailer, I need HELP and Yall are the only ones left to help us come home. Please help a true in every sense of the word "first responder". When we helped man the hurrican shelter in the Kiln - we took care of 400 of fellow Hancock County citizens. My 14 year old son even cleaned toilets after they had been used for 2 days by 400 people - him and about 9 other young men of about his own age - while they did that I scrubbed the shelter with pure bleach and pond water to kill the germs we could smell growing there. Our home is on Adams Road - the yellow trailer on the left hand side of the road - it was filled with the water and toxic muck you described and it was just as devastated as the rest of the town. Please feel in your hearts our agony and offer us some help. Showers of Blessings and please include in your blog site some of the first responders who actually live in Pearlington like Linda Gammage of the fire dept. - She was the saint of this tragedy before any other help found their way there and like me she was helping all of the survivors in the days when no other help was there!!!
Dear Ms. Freeman,
Thank you for your letter. Please know that I am fully aware of Clayton's work and that it never was my intention to pretend that the people listed in the report card were the *very* first responders, nor that many other people in the community hadn't helped so many others before any of us got there.
The list of people on the Report Card are merely some of the ones that have asked to be included in our Coalition and who continue volunteer work in Pearlington, from the outside. I know Linda Gammage and many others who saved the day on August 29th and after.
As to your plight, I would like to offer what assistance I can. Please know that we are volunteers from out of town, out of state and even out of the country and in no way represent the government agencies you list in your comment. Please have Clayton contact me and I will see what I can do to facilitate a solution.
Jon White
jonw@bconnex.net
Dear Ms. Freeman,
I know your son well - well, as well as anyone can online. But he's the reason I got involved. My sister found his blog and ordered her family and friends to "do something!" And so I am.
Please email me as you are able - you and your family are my sister's personal fight, and if she knows more specifically of your problems, she might be able to assist. I can't promise, but it's possible.
I know you want to move back ASAP. I sent Clayton information about being able to get some of the rubble removed even though the Army Corp had initially denied you. I believe they are still collecting until the middle of this month - but Jon may know better than I.
I also know that you can appeal the decisions made by the government, which would be a good idea since those who helped initially were poorly trained and not at all experienced in disaster relief. The ones helping now are far more well versed in assisting people.
Please consider checking with law offices local to you in N.C. for some pro bono assistance in your appeal process. I would guess there is at least one group that would be willing to lend a hand. And in this way, you're not fighting with bare hands, you'd actually have a trained weapon/guardian on your side.
Email me if you would like. I'll do what I can.
Leslie
Jon and Leslie
Thanks for being there, I needed someone to inform me whats available to a displaced resident and how to get it.
It is very frustrating...thanks for hearing and caring!!
Showers of Blessings
Linda Freeman
Dear Linda,
Here's info I found:
VOLUNTEER SERVICES REGISTRATION Those in need of volunteer services, or those who want to volunteer their services, are encouraged to register at the Hancock Emergency Operation Center at the Annunciation School at 5380 Kiln Delisle Road, Kiln, at
228-466-8330
Found it at:
http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/Katrina/GCNhancockCD1001.htm
They have a link at the bottom for a blog, but it hasn't worked in about 2 weeks.
Also:
http://www.hancockeoc.com/HancockEOC.com/index.html
While most of their pages have nothing on them, the link to DL the updates DOES work.
You may not be able to get a trailer put on your property due to whatever idiottic reason, but you might qualify for one in another Femaville location. Not the best situation, but it gets you back in town so you won't lose your job.
Let me know how it goes!
Leslie
You guys are great! I been to Pearlington on Saturday and the had 25 People from Habbitat for Humanity come in to help for a couple of Days. They need some help there.
PCR
Do you have reports for 2006? Seems like the center should report them quarterly or so? Is there a bank account set up for the Recovery Center?Or how do you manage the donations? Who is in charge of the donations? Who makes the decisions of what to do with the donations? Are the records open to the residents of Pearlington? How do you justify as to the donations for the volunteers or to the residents? As the man said in the Can-do blog, Where does the money go? Thank-you
It has come to my attention that at the pearlington recovery center a bit of a black spot is starting to show up. As a person who donated to the recovery center rumors are starting to fly about miss use of funds. Not only that but the funds are being used to help people that the people that run the recovery center want to help out. I was the understanding that the funds were to be used for people in pearlington and the surrounding gulf coast area. Not for people who just moved there and took a job at the recovery center. Further more if this is going on it needs to be investaged and the people that are running the show at the pearlington recovery center also needs to be investaged. There is no reason what so ever for anyone to be like this. I hope this is not true but if it is it will go to show you even in small towns across the united states corruption still goes on. And anyone who thinks they can get away with it should think twice
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