Outreach

New Orleans Mission Trip • February 2008

            Team Pohick went to New Orleans in February for the fifth mission trip to assist the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (EDOLA) in their Rebuild New Orleans Program. The mission team of 11 volunteers included parishioners as well as their friends. Contributions from individual donations along with the Martha Guild and the Brotherhood of St. Andrew were greatly appreciated.
            Some things have changed dramatically since the first trip in June 2006. Most of the traffic lights are working. The St. Charles Trolley is running again. The French Quarter runs out of parking on Sunday afternoons, and there are Mardi Gras beads on the trees. The people have changed but the spirit and willingness to work remain the same. Most importantly, the young people who serve as team leaders for EDOLA are still as dynamic and altruistic as ever.
            Unfortunately, there is still a huge need for volunteers to continue the rebuilding process. The major middle and lower middle class neighborhoods of New Orleans have homes in a range of conditions - rebuilding, untouched by the hurricane, and vacant slabs where homes were demolished. There are even home owners in the upper class Garden District in need of help.

What did Team Pohick do?

• “Hung” 10,368 square feet of dry wall with 8,640 screws and lots of helping hands.
• Climbed ladders 3,102 times to measure, position, and attach each 12 foot piece of dry wall, or paint each 2 foot section of trim.
• Used 36 utility knife blades, lost 13 pencils, and drank 396 bottles of water.
• Met some wonderful Lutherans from Iowa.
• Consumed 32 pieces of chicken, 14 pounds of spaghetti, 44 turkey necks, and 23 bowls of beans and rice all generously and lovingly prepared by the future homeowner.
• Completed two house ceilings, finished 50% of the walls, made a mother’s overworked son very grateful, and finished the difficult trim painting that shows off the personality of the house and owner to all who visit.

            The Pohick builders helped three different home owners this trip. One was an elderly lady on a fixed income in the Garden District, who managed to get her roof repaired but had been unable to get anyone to help her paint the exterior of her home. One team went to her home on Monday to finish the painting started by a prior group of EDOLA volunteers. The rest of the team went to the Upper Ninth Ward to work on a home for a 70 year old former Charity Hospital nurse. Miss Catherine’s original home was completely destroyed. The new home, located across the street from her son who is a fireman, was one that had been gutted, but was structurally intact. It was purchased with her retirement funds and money from her children. Her son was impressive as he never left the city following the hurricane, but stayed on the job as a city fire fighter. Miss Catherine came to the attention of EDOLA thanks to an article in the Times-Picayune. She had spent the past 18 months going through paperwork to get her Road Home money. Road Home money is from the federal fund that was set up to reimburse homeowners whose homes were damaged by the floods caused by the levee collapses. Of the thirty plus homes currently completed or in progress under the EDOLA program, only half have received even part of the promised Road Home money.
            On Friday, the team worked in the Lower Ninth Ward. The community is coming back very slowly, and the Episcopal Church is very much a part of this resurgence. A new mission church is being formed, and will be housed in a donated former Walgreen’s Drug Store. The owner of the home, again a widowed older woman, is an active member of the new church. Due to the mold remediation rules, her house needed the ceiling drywall put in before she could get a permit to continue work. Fortunately, the Pohick team was joined by a team of Lutherans, made up mostly of current and former builders.  
            One ritual on Friday afternoons is the debriefing by the EDOLA staff. They really want to know what can be done better, or if there were any problems during the week. Given the wonderful group of team leaders, there was little suggestion for improvement. Noted problems were all directly related to the limitations of funding. As experienced volunteers, the team knew to bring small tools such as hammers, box cutters, screwdrivers, pliers, etc. EDOLA can definitely use contributions for materials. The Diocese has an account with Home Depot that is continuously maxed out by the end of each month. In order to keep up with the small things that are needed, a request for Home Depot gift cards was top on the list.
           The last night in New Orleans, Team Pohick took the team leaders out to dinner and had them stop by the lodgings to take leftover food. Team leaders receive $1,000 per month to cover all their expenses above basic lodging. Having seen both their appetites and their appreciation for the food gift cards for Walmart, Winn-Dixie, or Whole Foods - the only chains currently in New Orleans - would also be greatly appreciated. If anyone in the parish would like to donate gift cards, please either give a donation to Pohick marked for Katrina Mission gift cards (designate Home Depot or food), or purchase the card. The card or donation can be placed in the Sunday offering or sent to the Parish Office to Pat Osisek’s attention.