Final Reflections from Alternative Spring Break 2007

I'm sitting on the couch in my living room right now, computer on my lap as I write this and casually watch March Madness on TV in the background. It feels great to be back in my apartment in San Francisco after a week long stint in Lake Charles Louisiana with the United Way.

Overall, I have warm, positive memories of my time with the Alternative Spring Break program this past week. We helped paint a house, clean and paint a warehouse, and put down tile flooring in another house. All of our projects were with Habitat for Humanity.

This week, I got an inside look at how Habitat works, and also interacted with AmeriCorps volunteers all week, learning the ins and outs of that organization. We also met survivors of Hurricane Rita, Red Cross volunteers, the Mayor of Lake Charles, and the Police Jury for Calcasieu Parish.

This week I learned that there are a lot of public misconceptions about Hurricane Rita, which was very different from Hurricane Katrina. When Mayor Randy Roach of Lake Charles came to speak to us at the United Way shelter he explained that Rita is the most powerful hurricane to ever strike the Gulf of Mexico, yet not a single person died as a direct result of the hurricane. Mayor Roach explained that the reason Hurricane Katrina was so destructive and resulted in mass loss of life was primarily because the levees broke in New Orleans. Relative to other hurricane emergency operations, the Rita evacuation was well organized and executed. Also, the crime, murder, and disregard for human life that became a national news spectacle in the aftermath of Katrina were not prevalent in South-West Louisiana where Rita struck land and did the most damage.

The general feeling among the people of Lake Charles is that they have been forgotten. Hurricane Katrina greatly overshadowed the destruction caused by Rita, leaving those in South-West Louisiana to fend for themselves and dig themselves out of the physical and psychological chaos caused by the storm. This week we witnessed destruction on an incredible scale. Before the trip to Lake Charles, I was unsure how devastated the area would be; wondering if there would be stores or internet access. In actuality, the commercial heart of the town has recovered, including a Wall Mart Supercenter, movie theatre, and a dozen or so fast food restaurants that crowd the main thoroughfare through town. Driving through town it is impossible to tell that just two years ago a storm of wind and water ripped the area apart. Miles of rail cars line up outside refineries which in the next few years will increase output to 25% of domestic oil supply to the US.

The woman on the right, and her daughter pose with some of my ASB team members in front of their new Habitat for Humanity house.
Wile commercial interests like Wall Mart and Citgo have fared well, propped up by their deep pocketed corporate parents, the fringes of society continue to suffer. Those living in poverty before the Hurricane have returned to find splinters and toothpicks where their houses once stood. These people turn to organizations like the United Way, Habitat for Humanity, and AmeriCorps, to fill the void left by federal and state assistance. This week we have met many people in a seemingly hopeless position, rescued from an uncertain future by these charities.
This check, presented by ASB 2007, represents the amount of money raised for the State of Louisiana to repay their debt to FEMA. Jason, from University of New Hampshire, Eric, the team leader from Montana, and myself pose with the check for a photograph.
More than helping build and re-build houses, we were also helping the State of Louisiana repay its debt to the Federal Government. FEMA, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, stipulates that all aid given in an emergency must be matched by an equal amount of State aid. Right now Louisiana needs to contribute many millions of dollars to meet this Federal requirement. Every hour of work an ASB student does counts as $18.50 of State aid, and at the end of the week we presented a check to the State of Louisiana in the amount of $173,517, good toward its debt to FEMA.

I think Alternative Spring Break is a great idea, and truly great things have been accomplished in South-West Louisiana as a result. The program requires a tremendous amount of planning and coordination, but if we could make it a yearly event I think that would be great. Maybe it won’t be in Lake Charles, but there will always be cities in need, be it the result of natural disaster or other circumstances.