News From Biloxi

Got an e-mail from my sister Mary today. She is volunteering at the Biloxi Disaster Recovery Center assisting people displaced by Hurricane Katrina. Her descriptions of the scene impressed me so much I felt her words should receive a wider audience, so I am re-publishing them here.

Joel

"Biloxi DRC: first day for me today. The organization I'm volunteering for had no other representatives here, so I was the only one, and its my first day, and I have no idea what exactly it is that I'm supposed to be doing. So I have spent my day talking to the others around me and getting as much of a sense of what they do as I can. Apparently I am going to have to develop my own assistance program here. A little moxi is required on my part. So far I haven't helped anyone-just learned alot.
The center that I'm at will be closing down at the end of May, so things are slowing down. In the last couple of weeks, they've let half the people who used to be working out of this site go, and the number of people coming in for assistance today has been modest. Right now people are at the stage where they have already applied for insurance, FEMA, etc, and they are finding out what they have to work with for any rebuilding. Many of the support issues at this time are related to helping people cope with the stress and anxiety. Mental health issues, post-traumatic stress, particularly veterans seem to be feeling it. There are many issues with homeowners insurance not covering or covering very little. FEMA grants are being issued but still doesn't cover the original cost of the structure. And of course there are those who fall through the cracks...who had a house but now its gone, they're on disability or SS, insurance won't cover, and the FEMA grant is too little to rebuild, and they can't get a mortgage because their income is too low. They don't know where to go. The casinos are moving in and taking advantage of the situation to buy up coastal property cheap.
The coastline is flattened...completely gone for miles. Only signs remain where businesses used to be; the Olive Gardens, McDonald's, gas stations, huge resorts. They are gone right down to the slab, just surrounded by piles of rubble. Cemetaries have been destroyed. Signs missing is a problem. I've had some trouble finding my hotel, and travel routes as a result. It's amazing. A main bridge on the hwy running along the coast from Biloxi to gulfport is gone. They say it will take three years to rebuild. The beach is beautiful though, fully groomed and gorgeous white sand. They're empty at the moment too, so even better. And A couple blocks in the city is active, and people are cleaning up and rebuilding. Apartments are just beginning to fill up again. But six months into it, there is clearly a long road ahead. Many, many FEMA travel trailers still in front of peoples homes. There are still a lot of people in other states.
I drove around and took a few pictures with my new digital camera, but haven't figured out how to download them. I'll have to read up on my manual in my hotel tonight.
I'll try to get something out later this week.
Ciaio!
Mary