New Orleans Mission Trip

There is an ongoing story in New Orleans, and Pohick is part of it. For the third time, a team from Pohick went to New Orleans to help the Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana (EDOLA) Hurricane Relief Program. The first team of four went in June 2006, the second team of eight went in January 2007, and the third team of nine went from September 9-15, 2007. There have been major changes since the first team went down. Now the concern is rebuilding. EDOLA does not really have a set criterion for who is helped, but they do try to focus on those most in need, which seem to be the older ladies without husbands or close family in the area. The team this fall worked on four houses, and although no one asked the age of the homeowners, a good estimate is that all were women over 75. It is known that the owner of one of the homes is 80 since a birthday celebration was included with the work contribution. The homeowners are requested to provide EDOLA with reimbursement should they receive any state or federal aid. However, no formal contract is written since at this point only one homeowner has actually received Road Home funds.

The first two trips for Pohick volunteers were strictly gutting homes, and in some cases, going through the possessions left to find anything remotely salvageable. This trip focused on rebuilding. Tasks included installing ceiling drywall, trim molding, window sills, painting, or tiling. Check out the pictures on Kathy Kirkland’s website (ignore the wedding pictures). Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/kjkirkland/sets/ and click on the box that says New Orleans September 2007. Photos from the January trip are also included. The pictures tell the story better than any words.

The Pohick teams have been grateful for the support of the parishioners. Between $2,500 and $3,000 needs to be raised to fund a team of 8-10 people. EDOLA requires that each group provide its own ground transportation to and from the worksites. Pohick pays approximately $600 for van rentals, $400 for food and beverages, at least $300 to St. Andrews for use of Chalstrom House for sleeping and showering, and an additional $1,500 for EDOLA to cover the costs of materials for the projects. Although the last two figures are not required, they do enable both St. Andrews and EDOLA to continue their great work.

All the volunteers pay for dinners, airfare, and other miscellaneous expenses out of their own pockets. The Pohick Nine for this trip were Susan Homar, Sandra Caesar (both on their third trip), Carolyn Cockroft, Jim Heller, Becky Wagner, Kathy Kirkland (two trips each) and Robin Muir.

For those not familiar with the program, the diocese may officially run the program but the real leadership comes from a group of recent college grads, mostly from Kenyon College and Grinnell College. They provide a talk in the morning about the house to be worked on, and the basics of the homeowner’s story, drive the van or truck with the tools, conduct a walk through on site to give an overview of the day’s activities and supervise all the work. Supervision includes ensuring that everyone follows safety rules. They do a wonderfully sensitive job dealing with the homeowners, call the volunteers out of the house every 90 minutes or so for water breaks, which are also respites from the emotions, and work their tails off. And they do it for a bed at night and $1,000 a month. Most commit to stay for three to six months. Some stay longer.

Plumbing and electrical work is done by professionals hired by EDOLA, but for all other work there is a definite course of action for each task which is simply: watch one, do one, teach one. And they apply it to themselves when presented with a volunteer possessing higher skill levels. There are no egos at EDOLA - just wonderful people trying to help rebuild a city one house at a time and they need help.