Long time readers will remember my husband, Jeff's best friend Chad. Chad has come down from Virginia to the Gulf Coast in order to volunteer his time and skills as a contractor to help rebuild homes destroyed by Katrina. He is also staying in our garage off and on. Mostly off, as he stays in Pearlington, MS where he does the majority of his work.
Can you believe there are still people whose homes have not yet been fixed? Can you believe that there are still hundreds of people coming down here to help strangers. It totally amazes me.
For many families the problem is that they are stuck in a no win situation. Crippled with house payments and insurance premiums on the home which was destroyed. Unable to stop making those payments or lose the hope of ever rebuilding or recouping their losses. So these people live in FEMA trailers that have some weird toxic gas that is making them all sick. When you are sick it is hard to move forward and get a lot done.
The volunteers come here and they have no money they are just here to work. Someone has to buy the supplies to fix these houses. Many charities like the Salvation Army etc. are offering grants to people in order to buy the materials to fix there homes. Some people get the materials and fix their homes themselves and do such a poor job that the house needs to be re-fixed.
Many of the folks in these situations of overwhelming despair are not reacting well to the more than two years of hell they have endured. Many are trying to cheat the system by applying for grants at more than one place. Many are getting free supplies donated to them and selling those supplies to someone else. Many people are using their grant money at the casinos or for drugs. When the volunteers come down they see that many of the people who they have come all this way to help are less than honest people. Or so the story goes, Chad says that he has only heard these stories of thievery and dishonesty but never actually seen it with his own eyes. Many volunteers get frustrated and don't want to help those who are less than honest or are not willing to help themselves. Many people who come all this way to make a difference in the world, when they arrive are very upset to find that the people they have come to help are poor.
Mental health is also a very real part of this dynamic. Whether a persons mental health has deteriorated due to the trauma of Katrina and the resulting two years of hell or if they were struggling with it before hand, many if not most of the people who have yet to recover from Katrina are in poor mental health. They have given up or can't see past where they are today.
My thoughts run to the upcoming election, what do the fine candidates have planned for our country for our poor?
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I Think I May Have A Screw Loose
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I saw my podiatrist yesterday. One part of my foot is still hurting (it's
been almost two months since the surgery). He thinks it may be one of the
screws ...
5 comments:
Marsha,
This is an excellent update on the problems facing the Gulf Coast area as a result of Katrina. It's not much we hear about anymore though. Thanks for reminding us.
You mentioned politics and the poor. Now, I think I remember that you were supporting Clinton, but from the get-go John Edwards has been the loudest (and I feel the most sincere) advocate for the middle class and the poor. I remember hearing a speech on C-SPAN well over a year ago where he talked about this issue. He is one candidate who is still preaching that same message today. I will vote for him on Feb. 5 but he has not been able to rally enough of us behind his message. I wonder why.
yes, thank you for reminding us about the katrina folks. it continues to be such a nightmare for so many people.
whoever is elected, they will be stepping into such a huge mess on so many fronts -- i don't know if it can all be fixed. we can only hope that it can't be worse.
my husband is pulling for edwards. (i'm not sure yet, but that's another post -- sans cough medicine!)
It is a sad state of affairs that the effects of Katrina a still so prevalent. I understand that things take time...this feels like it's been a long time...I can't even begin to imagine how it must be for those who are still displaced. Thanks for the update.
I believe that Edwards speaks eloquently about working class families as well. I believe very much that he cares. But, I believe that all of the candidates care very much and that they all have different ideas of how to make things work.
In my opinion Edwards is too much of a my way or the highway kind of guy. He was asked in a recent debate (NH I think), what he accomplished while he was a senator as an example to what he will accomplish as president. His example is the Patience Bill of Health which he wrote...It did not get passed, though. Which strikes me because most of the candidates on both sides of the isle want a patience bill of health. Why wasn't this done for the American people? Was it because of the way he wrote it? Did it include a bunch of stuff that the rep couldn't stomach? Did he forfeit the chance for real change in order to try and pass a bill that everyone wanted by including a lot of things that killed its progress?
He also says that he feels that lobbyists and insurance companies are the enemy and he will not speak to the or work with them or even have a drink with them. Sounds very isolationist to me. Sounds like George Bush with a different agenda.
If you were to review the records of accomplishment of Clinton you would find that she has devoted her career and life to helping the poor. She has donated years of her life to working for the poor. Nearly every job she has ever had has been in public service to help the poor. Working at legal aide clinics for the children's defense fund etc.
Edwards got very rich as a private attorney that helped folks take on big business. Not that getting rich is wrong. It is a different approach to the same problems. Which would make a more effective leader is up to you. Is change going to come from an aggressive attack on the most powerful companies in America insurance and lobbyists or is it going to come from working with those companies to improve what we already have? That is the difference between Edwards and Clinton. At least as I understand it to be, what do you all think?
I thought you were all in favor of Obama?
Marsha,
I am. One day I'm for Obama. One day for Edwards. I'm afraid Edwards can't win the nomination though. Not sure if Obama can either. Obama is my son and daughter-in-law's senator and they are solidly behind him. I think what you say about Edwards is probably true as far as fighting instead of bringing together, but I would rather have a fight in some cases. I think Clinton is competent but my problem with her is not centered on that. It will be interesting.
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