Coming Home

The plane ride home was my time to reflect on the week, and try to sort out my thoughts and figure out what to do with them. I was then, as I am now, trying to figure out how to communicate what we all dealt with here, and how to answer that inevitable, looming question, "How was your trip?" So, here is what I wrote on that long, dark plane ride home on Saturday, March 25th.

When someone asks the inevitable, "How was your trip?" how do I respond? How do I sum up so much into so few words?

The hurricane. The flooding. The distinction between the two. The race and class issues. The fact that they were an issue before and Katrina showed them to the world. The fact that these same problems exist all across the country. FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security that it is now a part of. The job they are [not] doing. The amount of schools open (few). The amount of kids not in school (many), with nowhere to go, waiting on lists. The amount of people displaced (many). The amount of people back in New Orleans (more than I expected, but not as many as there should be). The amazing culture of the city (much of which has been [hopefully only temporarily] lost). The amazing courage and strength of the people of New Orleans. The emotions. Anger. Sadness. Devastation. Frustration. Loss. Hope. And so much more. The 9th Ward. The Lower 9th Ward. The levees and the barge. The houses, ruined. The cement slabs where houses used to be. Spray painted addresses on cement slabs, on plots of land, on a few remaining studs that were once people's houses. Waveland, Mississippi, the eye of the hurricane. The trailers. The empty trailers, sitting on people's land with no one in them because FEMA didn't give them a key. The waste of time and energy (by FEMA and the government as a whole) on some things, and the absolute lack of time and energy spent on other things. "Is this the United States?" Is it? What if this would have happened in D.C. or L.A.? Would it have taken this long? The talk and no action of the government officials. The run-around. The immense amount of work that needs to be done. The feeling of getting one house done. The draining of all things physical, mental, and emotional. The point when you shut off completely and realize you need a break before you can go on. The sadness in remembering that while I spent a week and now I get a break, the people of New Orleans are into their seventh month and get no breaks. Then remembering that gutting a house is giving someone a break. Meeting Tony, the homeowner. His story. The tears in my eyes when he holds up a picture of his daughter, the only picture he has of her, and realizing that I found that picture. I saved that picture. The amazing surge pf energy and motivation that came from that moment. The people, the people, the people. Thos so willing and ready and eager to tell their stories. "It is not okay. Tell everyone you know that it is not okay."

And even though the task (of answering the question, of communicating the issues, of rebuilding the Gulf Coast...) is overwhelming, too bad. I can't let this die. This overwhelming feeling. This sadness. This anger. This passion. This hope. It's big, but too bad. It's mine. It's all of ours, all of us that went on the trip, it's ours. I want it to stay mine, stay ours. And I want to spread it, we want to spread it. Everywhere.

-Whitney Klein, homelessness group

Homecoming

Flying above the Mississippi River, suspended between New Orleans and Minnesota, on Saturday night, on the way home, I began to once again appreciate what the thirty one Hamline people left behind and what we were entering. We left behind a few more cleaned up homes. We left behind people we now care about: Elenora, Tony, Vance, Clifford, Sarah, Allison, Miss Jo Ann, Miss Jeanette. We left behind a devastated city. We left behind the raw suffering. We left behind debris and mold and tyvek suits and masks and streets without streetlights and stores that are still boarded up and schools that still aren't full of children.
We carry with us the commitment to care, to change the physical circumstances, to unlearn our preconceptions. We carry with us the task of staying open to New Orleans while we pick up our studies, our friendships, our everyday tasks. We carry with us a changed and deepened understanding of how to perceive racial and class injustice. We carry with us a deepened understanding of what sustains each of us in the face of such tragedy. We carry with us the experience of stepping into a community that recovers, rebuilds, renews. We are part of that community.
I thank each person on the trip, and those reading this blog, for representing Hamline well, for your patience and suggestions. I know that many will return to New Orleans or to other places on the Gulf. I trust that everyone will continue to contribute to the life long challenges of bringing love and justice into our lives.

One word: Aware

We have been reflecting throughout the week with one word that describes our feelings/emotions/reactions etc. As this is the second to last day of the trip, I am thinking of what the word would be to describe my trip as a whole: AWARE.

Before this trip, I thought about the destruction of Katrina and how quickly it destroyed so many lives, homes, businesses and places of worship. Now that I am here, I realize I need to reconsider the strength I gave to Katrina. From removing furniture, pictures, and personal items to knocking out cupboards and showers to banging out all of the sheetrock, I now understand how difficult it is to truly destroy a structure. Katrina and the subsequent flooding soaked and molded memories and carpet, but it has taken a group of 9 an entire week to gut the home down to its frame.

We met Tony, the owner of the house, on Tuesday. As we talked with him and saw his tears and joy simultaneously, I realize how much it takes to ruin a life. Tony and his family still have their lives; they are different, but they did not disappear when the water receeded. Slowly pounding away the sheetrock has provided ample time to ponder what I have become aware of: the power of humanity is greater than flood waters.

What we have done this week in New Orleans has brought awareness to me, and likely to all of the Hamline students and leaders. We have provided hope to Tony's family. As soon as another group can remove the molded ceiling in one bedroom, Tony can begin rebuilding his home and the life his family shared in the structure that is now down to the bare bones. While he does that, we can share our new level of awareness back at Hamline.

Katie Young

Being the Change

Be the Change. Volunteer. If I am not the hands being the change down here, who will be? This is a question I've been running through my head all week. When I feel like I can't possibly lift another piece of sheetrock or pull out another nail I have to realize that I am one of many (but not enough) people down here trying to make things happen. The frusterating part for me is that there are so many able-bodied people who could be here doing the same thing but choose not to. There have been times when I wished I was on a beach in Florida or partying in Mexico but seeing house after house and neighborhood after neighborhood that are completely ruined or in need of immense amounts of work, I know that doing that would be selfish of me. Along with about 10 other Hamline students I am working with an amanzing and very hard-working organization called Hands On, New Orleans. The motto is "Be the Change. Volunteer." This really hits hard as to why I am here. Someone must be the change here because things cannot stay the way that they are right now. It's true there are many companies selling house gutting services but there are probably far more people who cant afford such services than can. That is why I am here. I am being the change New Orleans needs. I know in the grand scheme of things, I am barely putting a dent into the work that needs to be done, but I also know that New Orleans will eventually come back together and I will have been a part of that. I encourage anyone who reads this and can make it down here to gut houses for a few days, a week or longer to do whatever they can to do so. Pretty much New Orleans needs hands of the willing and able. Although my helping to gut 3 or 4 houses is so minimal, I know that I am indeed being the change instead of just talking about it and that makes me proud of myself and the rest of the relief workers. Be the Change. Volunteer.

~Brittany Dalzell

Tears

Kelsey Schuder here - I am leading the Environmental group and I feel so blessed to have had an opportunity to be here for the past week. I knew when the chance was offered last fall to come down to New Orleans for a week it was something I could not rightly pass by. There were times when I regretted signing up for this trip due to the business of my life and time constrictions that being here would stress. There is no doubt in my mind that this was the right decision. While here I have been able to connect with the 9 other students in my group and I have the most wonderful group. We have taken down the ceilings, gutted showers, and sifted through belongings together, cried together, and laughed together. The most impactful time of this trip for me was yesterday while we were sorting through belongings at a woman's home. There were problems with her situation pre-Katrina and I was struggling with the fact that we are just sifting through her storage closet (the downstairs of her home was all storage and it was all ruined). It felt like we were useless because she was trying to save so many things and we all felt they were unsalvagable. I was cleaning out one of the bedrooms which had 6 matresses in it and found a stuffed animal - it was a bear and one I had seen before. My grandma owns one of these bears and it is always out at christmas time. I picked it up, gave it a hug, and began to cry. This situation is so real and could have happened anywhere. The race issue is one that has been brought up and continues to be a struggle but as a professor we listened to yesterday said, "This is an opportunity for New Orleans to rebuild in a better way". Once again I would like to thank all members of my group and say again how blessed I feel to be here.

~Kelsey Schuder

two nights, one day left...

So it's almost time to head home and what a trip this has been-trip meaning head trip, and also just plain vacation. The Ninth Ward was more shredded and mangled and indistinguishable than I could ever have imagined and ever seen in pictures. Wow! I cried from just the immense sorrow when we stood there and could only hear sqeeking rusted metal, and wind. It's just so hard to explain. It also made me so angry! We are planning to form a large group and contact any political people that will listen to us and do something about this atrocity! It's sickening to think that humans would do this to other humans, just leave them with nothing, and just assume that because we don't see Katrina footage on the news that everything is fine and all better. And then there's the gutting... ah yes... the gutting. It is DRAINING! But I love the feeling I get when I'm doing it. And to see the home owners! To see the gratitude on their face makes every board to the head, every sheet rock in the eye, and every bruise on my hand worth while. And Hands On, can we say - WE LOVE EVERYONE!! Sally rocks, Ari is the sweetest, and Allison is awesome, the list goes on and on. We'll miss them so much. And they work so hard- I have a whole ton of respect for how hard they work. To sum it up, it's hard to put into words what this trip has done for me. It's easy to have a good time in New Orleans, but it's hard to forget the disheartening lack of volunteerism. We need CHANGE down here, and when we get home, those changes will begin!!!!!!!!!!

-Sarah Clausen

The Ultimate Gift

Minnesota!This is Lurelia of the Environmental group.I just like everyone was profoundly struck by Hurricane Katrina on many levels; as a Southerner, as an African-American, as the granddaughter of a native of Louisiana,and someone who had a very dear friend who suffered. I desparately needed to do something and I waited for this very opportunity.My friend, Vance Vaucresson, met us when we arrived Friday night to give us an personal perspective of the current and historic situations.Yesterday we spent a large part of the day helping him clear the house he grew up in. His house was by far the highest water levels we had seen as well as the worst mold inside. The water settled about 7 feet up and was all the way up to the roof, and sat for over two weeks. I knew before we came that this would be the most important thing short of having my daughter I have done in my life and I was right. My first reaction was relief upon seeing him, knowing he was really alright and then feeling his pain. In addition to loosing his childhood home, he lost his home as well, which he was of process rebuilding from a fire suffered a year ago, as well as the family business, Vaucresson Sausage Company, which had been in the family for four generations.Today all of what we have witnessed finally hit me particularly Vance's situation.I finally broke down and cried late this afternoon while working on another house. Yesterday we also got a chance, thanks to Vance, to visit Xavier University and talk to some of the administrators who were stranded with some 250 students on campus for several days about their experience.Also very hard to take-if not for the grace go I.....It is clear to me that all of America must stay engaged in this process something that has been stressed by everyone we have met.I think that Hamline could and should have an important role to play.A couple of us have been talking about organizing another trip during the May term.There is still so much to do-perhaps one that would involve both Xavier and Dillard universities.... All my fellow education majors out there... there is something special for us to do as well we could very well be involved in helping rebuild these schools and help tilt the scales a little bit in the other direction for the future not only of New Orleans but this country.....think about it!I'll write more later.
MAKE LEVEES NOT WAR!!!!! LAISSEZ LES BONS TEMPS ROULUEZ!!!

Lurelia Freeman

Six Days In

Hello Hamline (and others),

Nearly one week has gone by since we left our great state of Minnesota. Duties have called us elsewhere, particularly, to New Orleans. Many sites to see down here, some good but most are not. A person can see the effects of Katrina in all parts of the city, but visiting the lower ninth ward is an especially sobering experience.

The work has been hard. Gutting houses from nine to five wears a person out, but their is a certain reward that follows.

We are all getting by here at Hands On and our group is doing well. Toni has taken the reins and led a successful tour of service thus far.

Well, time for food. See you soon,

-Aaron

What A Beautiful Morning

Good Morning...the sun is shining in New Orleans!
Today is my groups "day off". We will be working with a youth homeless shelter today, and also walking around the ninth ward. We are physically exhausted, but so eager to finish gutting the house that we are working on. I am amazed with all of the hard work that everyone from Hamline is putting into the recovery efforts down here. The emotions have been extreme and draining, but we keep going. I am touched at how the neighborhood that we are working in has opened it arms and hearts for us.

One moment that has stayed with me was a conversation with a gentlemen that stopped by the house we are working on. He pulled up and asked where he could call to get people like us to come help him. He is disabled and has one son. They alone are trying to do what 9 of us are doing to one house. On top of his own struggles he is helping out his neighbor that has congestive heart failure, and was told he had six weeks to live before the hurricane hit. When he told us all of this I wanted to grab the group and go around the corner to his house. I expressed my desire to want to help but explained that we couldn't. After I had apologized he said "Don't worry it is ok, by helping my neighbors you are helping me. You are bringing my neighborhood back." Emotions fell over me. His comment gave me hope and energy. By helping put one persons life back together we are helping an entire neighborhood.

I am getting ready to walk out the door, but I will leave you with a comment that a survivor told me "If there is one thing that you take back to Minnesota with you make sure you tell everyone it is NOT OK in New Orleans". This is what ignites the fire inside of me to keep on working hard.

-Megan Tighe

Pictures & Doorframes

This is Robyn with the homelessness group, posting my first blog here on the site. We've been gutting or "mucking" a house from start to finish, and we're beginning to see a serious change in the it. The formerly crowded and tattered house is beginning to look like a skeleton. No more walls, no more carpet, and no more ceiling in some areas.
A few highlights of the work itself today include the distruction of the shower, and Whitney getting some pretty gross water dripped on her. Also, I tackled the kitchen entrance in all it's metal glory.
However, the highlight of the day overall was when the owner of the house and his daughter came by. After talking about his experiences thus far in Houston, he walked through the house. I could not even begin to fathom what must have been going through his mind. Then someone mentioned that we had saved some pictures and personal belongings of his.
While we stood outside, he came to us and and showed us all an old faded picture of a small girl. He went on to tell us that this was a picture of his daughter as a child, and was the only surviving picture of his daughter at this age.
The rest of the day that conversation became my motivation. Putting a face to this house has changed it's meaning to me.
Hopefully I'll get a chance to write again, but it's getting late now and I'm going to go attempt to get some sleep!

Good Morning from Whitney!

We're starting another day of work this beautiful, hot Tuesday morning. We're all trying to eat breakfast, get our coffee fixes, and put on our moldy, sweaty clothes before we head off for our work sites at, well, we're supposed to be leaving now! That is the story of the trip, but we love it, keeps us on our toes! This has been such a ride. While this morning is a new day and I'm ready to go, by the night I can predict that I will be exhausted, both physically from the work and mentally from everything we are seeing, hearing, and experiencing. It is quite the roller coaster here. Just trying to grasp, and somehow file, everything we are dealing with, it is quite the task. And trying to figure out how to present what we are seeing here, what is going on here, to the our friends, families, and classmates back home is a whole other deal.

We're heading out the door now, and as much as I'd love to stay in this cyber world, I have to pile in a van, get to our work site, suit up, grab a sledgehammer, and have at it. Peace to all, we'll see you when we get home!

Reflections on New Orleans

Alright so we finally figured out this blog thing...

It has been an incredibly interesting trip so far, with more questions than answers. We (two groups) are living in the Felicity House, a wonderful house funded by the Methodist Church next door.

So far, each group has been working on people's houses daily. The focus of our work consists of "gutting," or stripping all belongings, sheet rock, ceilings, and everything that comprises a person's home. During our stay today, one of the most prevalent issues was brought to the forefront: Where is everyone? After walking out of our house after a morning of gutting, we go to the end of the driveway and think. We are ONE house, in ONE neighborhood, as a part of ONE big city. And we feel like as much as we are working, we are just a small dent in one huge economic, political, and social problem.

We have taken many tours of the city, from downtown to uptown and the now-famous ninth ward. Although we have only visited the upper ninth ward, it was a lifechanging experience. Driving through the streets, it is apparent that some of the houses have not been touched since the national guard came through in September. You can see into the houses and see overturned couches and furniture. The lawns are all littered with personal items, and tree debris is everywhere. It feels like a different world down here. There is so much work to be done that it is overwhelming. As an outsider, I can't fathom how much rebuilding and new building needs to be done.

The attitudes and mindset of the citizens of New Orleans varies from person to person, and we get to see the range of viewpoints as we talk to neighbors. On our tour the other day, we talked to someone who had never even seen the ninth ward before the hurricane. Others are just starting to figure out what to do. At Tulane University tonight, we attended a panel discussion with six different members of the community. One woman has been housed in fifteen different hotels, as well as the homes of five different friends who could take her in. She feels very disallusioned from the rebuilding process and highlighted the racial inequalities that have been brought out and reinforced by this disaster.

The attitues regarding the government and FEMA also range within the community. While some can admit that some government members are doing all they can, others describe FEMA as "Nazi" or "Failure to Manage Anything." The experiences I have can attribute to some of the widespread confusion and frustration. On Saturday, my group worked at a woman's house who had received a FEMA trailer. Although the trailer had been at her house for two months, she had NEVER received a key to it. She had to move away her family because she couldn't use the trailer that was provided to her. Secondly, FEMA's impact (or lack therof) is seen in the different communities. In some of the middle class neighborhoods, there are trailers at every house of the block. In the ninth ward part that we visited, I didn't see one trailer. It baffles me how the system decides who is deserving of these trailers and where they are going to go.

Like I said earlier, this trip has raised more questions than answers. How is this city going to be rebuilt? The amount of time it would take is more than I can physically picture. Where is the authority? In New Orleans, there are 25 people running for mayor in the upcoming elections. Who is the best candidate for the job? Who knows what is right for New Orleans? What has been worse for the city: the natural disaster or the aftermath of confusion?

We are just a small dent in this project that will take years to complete. The morale here is very high as we continue to do all that we can to help gut out people's homes and help individual people to restart their lives. As we struggle with our individual moral battles, I am realizing that the city has touched everyone in a different way. For me, the city has literally brought me to tears. In some instances, there are no words to explain what is happening. It is comforting to see that many people are finding their comfort in God. There are over 7,000 college students in New Orleans this week each doing all they can. In addition to working, it is important to pray for both the city and the citizens as they grapple with the struggle they face every day.

Jenna Witt

Sunday - Quick Update

I finally found time for an update! :]

Our flight went fine and we got in a bit earlier than expected. Getting from the airport to our respective quarters was a bit of an adventure and some trip members got to experience New Orleans public transportation. The service learning group is staying at First Street United Methodist Church and working with Hands On Network. HON is run by the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps. The environmental and homelessness groups are staying at Felicity House and working with UMCOR. All three groups were out working yesterday on three different houses. More later on the specifics of the work.

Today is our day off and there are a couple different things planned. One van-load of people (not group specific) will be taking a guided tour of the Ninth Ward, I will be taking another van down the Gulf Coast Highway to Biloxi, and I can't remember what the third van is doing so I'll have to post that later. Oops. :]

We'll try and have other people post more specific stuff later. If any of you want to know anything specific please comment with your inquiry and one of us will get back to you.

-Toni Hauser

Hamline University Hurricane Relief

Shalom,
At the outset, I'd like to thank the student leaders: Shanelle Evans, Toni Hauser, Kelsey Schuder, Megan Tighe, and Carli Wulff.
Thanks and much appreciation goes to the major funders of this effort: Garvin Davenport, Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs; Hamline University Student Congress; Linda Gesling, Director of Church Relations; Hamline Department of Education; Hamline Religious and Spiritual Life Office; Office of Service-Learning and Volunteerism; the TEVP program.

Please surf the links on this blog to get a sense of the context of this relief effort.
Personally, I want to relay the concern I heard from our hosts in New Orleans: please listen to the stories; please listen, open your heart and your mind to the challenges of bringing forth justice.

-Sharon Jaffe

Just about there...

In two days we'll be in the air (or at least sitting in those pseudo-comfortable pieces of plastic that get passed off as chairs), and we're all getting a bit stressed. Thankfully, the rest of the equipment arrived today (respirator masks, cartidges, safety glasses, earplugs and the rest of the Tyvek suits) so we no longer have to worry about that.

Please pass this blog around to your friends/neighbors/colleagues/pets and get them involved in disaster relief. Even something as simple as educating oneself about the different aspects of the disaster is important and will make an impact.

-Toni Hauser