Lousiana Resident Receives Help, New Home
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 Miss.
Carol and volunteer take a break from cleaning to eat lunch
 OBI
moves trailer into Miss Carol's driveway
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Slidell, LA -Standing in front of her severely hurricane damaged
home,
Miss Carol was in tears. The floods had gutted her home, and piles of debris, furniture
and refuse lay in her front yard. But Miss Carol’s
tears were not of sadness, but of joy.
FEMA had provided her with a trailer home, but because of all the debris cluttering
her yard and driveway, they were forced to park it down the street. Operation Blessing
President Bill Horan and a city official were driving through her neighborhood to assist
another resident when Miss Carol spotted them. Stepping out into the street she waved
them down. “We stopped to talk with her,” said Horan. “She explained that
she was disabled, struggling, and frustrated. The trailer had been delivered the day
before, but there was no room to pull it in her driveway.” Miss Carol’s house was one of thousands flooded by storm surges bringing six
to eight feet of muddy water inside. Homeowners have been struggling in sweltering
heat for weeks, emptying their homes of sodden contents, with mold and bacteria thriving
in the now dank and darkened homes. Many wrestle with depression as they watch their
homes regurgitate huge piles of debris; each pile, a sad collection of a family’s
treasured belongings. Miss Carol’s possessions were scattered in piles everywhere. Horan quickly
made a call and an Operation Blessing crew equipped with a loader arrived and cleared
all the debris along the street in front of her house. Another call to OBI’s
Slidell headquarters, and within an hour, a team of volunteers from AmeriCorps were
dispatched to her residence. They cleared out the debris and
carefully moved her belongings out of the driveway. Soon the trailer was backed into driveway, and the city water department was notified
that it was all set and ready for hookup to sewer, water and power. And that’s when Miss Carol began to cry. “She cried and thanked us for caring about her,” said Horan. “I
told her that’s what Operation Blessing is here for – to help people just
like her.” How You Can Help You can take part in Operation Blessing's ongoing disaster response efforts by making
an online
donation to help hurricane victims.
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