How to Help
In being on the ground for a month we saw many situations in which aid went unused and wasted because the people needing help were not matched up with the available aid. We also saw instances were timely and appropriate aid completely changed the lives of those receiving it. In an effort to match up those of you who wish to contribute directly to those who can use help, we are providing the following information on groups and individuals in the hurricane Katrina impact area.
There are three groupings of opportunities, each provided by an individual who was on the ground in the affected areas: A) Douglas Hackney, B) Stephanie Hackney and C) Amanda Orson, team leader of the Methodist Disaster Relief Team from Arlington, VA who we assisted at various times during our time in Gulfport.
Donations: Donations to groups and/or individuals can be made in a variety of ways. You can send a check made out to the identified organization or individual or, if you’d rather send non-cash assistance, then sending gift cards from major retailers are excellent ways to help out.
A) Douglas Hackney
1. St. James Community, Mt. Olive, MS
B) Stephanie Hackney
3. Rebuild Mississippi Libraries Fund
C) Amanda Orson
11. Daphne Hamilton and Mary DeDeaux
Section A) Opportunities identified by Douglas Hackney
1. St. James Community, Mt. Olive, MS. There is an economically challenged community in Mt. Olive, MS that could use assistance in the recovery.
Recipient: St. James Community
Contact: Diana Deaton
Pastor
Mt. Olive United Methodist Church
107 S. Main Street
Mount Olive, MS 39119
Phone: 601.797.3295
Label donation: “St. James Community Katrina Relief”
Local retailers: Wal Mart
Comments: This is a small rural community and is typical of the areas that have seen little to no relief from big logo charities or government agencies.
2. Turkey Creek, Gulfport, MS. Turkey Creek is the oldest black community in Mississippi and was founded by four families of emancipated slaves. We spent two weeks in this community cutting the trees out of every yard in the community. The people who were born there, grew up there and currently live there are fantastic. Turkey Creek is surrounded by development and the city of Gulfport has repeatedly tried to wipe it out in the past with large scale industrial development and currently with casinos. While Turkey Creek is presently a media darling, the community itself will need help recovering for a long time to come. Most of the homes were flooded and will require complete rebuilding or demolition and replacement.
There are two avenues available for contributing, Derrick Evans and his Turkey Creek Community Initiatives, which is an overall umbrella organization fighting to save and preserve the entire community and the Mt. Pleasant Methodist Church, whose church council provides a means of direct contribution to individuals in the community.
You can learn more about Turkey Creek at:
National Housing Institute story Click here for PDF file version
Gulfport Sun Herald Newspaper story Click here for PDF file version
We just stumbled into Turkey Creek and were unaware of its history and its media notoriety prior to our arrival. If we'd known about the media focus, frankly, we probably would have went somewhere else. But as it worked out, we met some wonderful people and had an opportunity to learn about Turkey Creek's history from the people whose ancestors founded it, who grew up there and who currently live there.
The downside to Turkey Creek's historical significance and its current media celebrity is that a variety of people are working hard to advance their own agendas at the expense of, or on the back of, Turkey Creek and its people. The upside to Turkey Creek's rich history and uniqueness is an opportunity to help save a community that is a living monument to times past, as well as a functioning mixed income community filled with interesting people pursuing meaningful lives.
Recipient: Turkey Creek Community Initiatives
Contact: Derrick Evans
14439 Rippy Road
Gulfport, MS 39503
Label donation: “Turkey Creek Community Initiatives Katrina Relief”
Local Retailers: WalMart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot
Comment: This community will require long term support in order to recover. After the immediate glare and glamour of the media coverage fades, this community will still be requiring the rebuilding or reconstruction of nearly every home.
Recipient: Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church Turkey Creek Katrina Recovery Fund
Contact: Mr. Warren White, Treasurer
Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church
14255 Rippy Road
Gulfport, MS 39503
Label Donation: “Turkey Creek Community Katrina Recovery Fund”
Local Retailers: WalMart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot
Comment: This community will require long term support in order to recover. After the immediate glare and glamour of the media coverage fades, this community will still be requiring the rebuilding or reconstruction of nearly every home.
Section B) Opportunities identified by Stephanie Hackney
3. Rebuild Mississippi Libraries Fund. I attended a Wet Salvage seminar at The University of Southern Mississippi. It was presented by the National Parks Service and what a valuable seminar, loaded with information on salvaging both organic and inorganic materials after flooding and/or water damage. If you are interested in any of the information from that seminar (there is much too much to type and post here!), please email me at shackney@egltd.com and I will be happy to share what I learned based on your specific needs.
The seminar was mostly attended by library and museum personnel who had lost collections as a result of Katrina. The libraries will be applying for funding to rebuild their libraries and restock their shelves. If you would like to assist them in doing so, please make donations to:
Rebuild Mississippi Libraries Fund
c/o AmSouth Bank
210 E. Capitol Street
Jackson, MS 39201
Donations are tax deductible. For more information, contact the Mississippi Library Commission at 1.800.MISSLIB (647.7542)
[I wouldn't be who I am without libraries and books. I plan to donate to this one. - DH]
I tried to read the local papers most every day in hopes of learning about resources and needs. Following is a list I compiled from my readings:
4. Adopt A Family. Kevin Buckel started an online “adopt a family” site to enable those affected by Katrina to request help from individuals and to enable individuals, agencies, churches and other groups to adopt a family affected by Katrina. The donors will receive information on “their family” and can then shop for the items the family needs and send them directly to them. There is even a possibility of meeting each other if the distance is not too great!
You can contact Kevin at 504.831.4312 or by email at kbuckel@cableone.net. For more information, visit: www.la-adoptafamily.com .
5. PRC Compassion. If you have looked through the pictures Doug posted on www.hackneys.com/Katrina, you will notice a picture of volunteers in bright orange t-shirts. I came across this group managing a relief tent off I-49 in Gulfport. This relief effort was started by some 80 pastors from all over the country and were providing food, water and other supplies to anyone in need. They are all volunteers and are doing a wonderful job of helping people in the Gulfport area. You can send donations to assist them in their cause by visiting their website at www.prccompassion.org. The local church that is managing the relief efforts can be reached at:
Church of the King
12100 Hwy 49 N
Suite 312
Gulfport, MS 39503
228.328.1516
6. Robinwood Baptist Church. On one of my trips to the Stihl dealer 22 miles north of Gulfport, I came across a Baptist church set up to provide relief supplies to the local community. I stopped in to see what they needed – they were very nice and welcoming, and well managed and providing goods to many families. They would be very appreciative of anything people want to send in order to assist them in helping survivors of Katrina. If you would like to assist them, please contact the church at:
Robinwood Baptist Church
West Wortham Rd. @ Hwy. 49
PO Box 580
Saucier, MS 39574
228.832.2727 phone
228.832.2741 fax
I would suggest contacting them prior to sending goods to see what their needs are at present. I also know funds would be greatly appreciated.
[This opportunity is in the rural and small town area of MS, an area that is underserved by the big logo charities and government agencies. - DH]
7. The Salvation Army was, in many instances, the first form of assistance on the ground, especially in the more rural areas where the needs were great and resources non-existent. I strongly recommend donating funds to this group based on what I saw in terms of their on-the-ground presence and assistance to the local communities. If you would like to send goods or funds directly to the Gulfport location, you can send them to:
The Salvation Army Church
2019 22nd Street
Gulfport, MS 39501
Salvation Army main web site: http://www.salvationarmyusa.org
Salvation Army Katrina relief updates: Katrina Updates
Salvation Army Katrina fast facts and aid locations: fast facts and aid locations
8. FEMA. If you know someone in the affected areas and want to provide info to them on where they can apply for assistance, please let them know they can contact FEMA at 800.621.3362. (Hearing and speech impaired can call 800.462.7585 [TTY]). FEMA provides disaster assistance, housing resources and roof tarping through the Blue Roof program.
Main site: http://www.fema.gov/
How to get help from FEMA: http://www.fema.gov/about/process/
How to volunteer or donate: http://www.usafreedomcorps.gov/
Overall U.S. Government Katrina response site: http://www.dhs.gov/interweb/assetlibrary/katrina.htm
Section C) Opportunities identified by Amanda Orson, team leader of the Methodist Disaster Relief Team from Arlington, VA who we assisted at various times during our time in Gulfport. Amanda and her team spent a lot of time working closely with these people in their homes and saw in detail the challenges faced by these individuals.
From Amanda: As I see it, there are any number of priority cases, but there are three immediate, expensive, and very specific needs. They are:
9. Delores Barnes. They need a Mississippi State building inspector to come out and evaluate if the home can, in fact, be saved and built back to code. Betty, Brendan and I think it's got about a 50/50 shot. Once the inspector arrives, if the home can be saved, it will cost in the neighborhood of $40k, at minimum. If not, she needs funds to sustain what she has and determine an alternate recourse. [We pulled a tree from this lady’s house. She refused to leave the house, even though there was no electricity and the structural integrity of the house had been compromised by the tree crushing the front portion.]
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Recipient: Delores Barnes Katrina Recovery Fund Contact: Mr. Warren White, Treasurer Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church 14255 Rippy Road Gulfport, MS 39503 Label Donation: “Delores Barnes Katrina Recovery Fund” Local Retailers: WalMart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot |
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10. Angie Stewart. Her roof is gone, a conservative estimate is $60k to replace it and bring her household wiring to code. She is young enough that this is well worth the time, trouble and money. Alternatively, she could have the top level of the house taken off- but this would impede what has been a landmark in Turkey Creek. Her home, at the bottom, used to operate as the town's General Store for a number of years. When it closed she used the bottom for storage, but her kitchen and all functional rooms are on the top. Additionally, the longer the wait to have her roof replaced, the more expensive it will become. Every time it rains, water seems into the walls and compromises what would be otherwise undamaged- her studs and drywall, not to mention her second-floor carpeting and flooring. At this point, the carpeting is already in need of replacement, but her walls are still good. I was told that this might be done cheaper by importing the labor and materials (e.g. paying someone from say, NC or VA to truck down the materials and build the roof, re do the wiring, etc.) as both materials and labor are being gouged at rates between 50-200% in town, and for a hundred miles in every direction.
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Recipient: Angie Stewart Katrina Recovery Fund Contact: Mr. Warren White, Treasurer Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church 14255 Rippy Road Gulfport, MS 39503 Label Donation: “Angie Stewart Katrina Recovery Fund” Local Retailers: WalMart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot |
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11. Daphne Hamilton and Mary DeDeaux. They lived in a house at the corner of Jeff St. & Rippy Rd. Daphne is Mary's mother, both are unemployed at the moment. The home was still under mortgage (I believe) before the storm. It was in dire disrepair to begin with, but is now beyond hope. Her roof is shot so there has been a slow but steady stream of water into the ceiling, which now retains the moisture like a plastic bag over their heads. Because of the roof & ceiling having been shot and leaking, the floor & subfloor have long since rotted away. The wall (partition) is actually detached from the floor by about 6". There is nothing underneath this but about 6" - 3' of space (depending on location) and earth. The heavy furniture has sunk into the floor to the point where it rests precariously on the remaining joists. Two members of my crew fell through the floor. The appliances are all in the neighborhood of 20-35 years old. There is a pungent odor emitting from the laundry room, probably due to both mold and feces from the critters that live beneath the house and in it's eves. And atop all of this, the house supports a family of six.
Their specific need is to have the house razed altogether, and to start anew. But there is no way on earth that a family of six with one income can afford it. They have at least one trailer parked on their lot that I know of, but six people in one trailer is a tight (and impermanent) solution.
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Recipient: Daphne Hamilton and Mary DeDeaux Katrina Recovery Fund Contact: Mr. Warren White, Treasurer Mt. Pleasant United Methodist Church 14255 Rippy Road Gulfport, MS 39503 Label Donation: “Daphne Hamilton and Mary DeDeaux Katrina Recovery Fund Katrina Recovery Fund” Local Retailers: WalMart, Target, Lowes, Home Depot |
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There are other, smaller, less priority needs. People who have some other recourse, be it through family, friends, or insurance. But these three identified above have a) no insurance, b) no recourse (e.g. elderly, with child, or single), and c) if not given another option, they will continue to reside in their unsanitary and condemnable homes.
