Emergency Communities, St. Bernard Parish

I'm back from Louisiana and had one insane experience while there. Essentially, we were living on a hippie commune for a week. I was skeptical at first, but they are doing an amazing job for St. Bernard Parish. They average 1,500 meals a day, plus distribute water, clothes, and provide free internet and long distance phone service. The destruction is unimaginable and it is organizations like Emergency Communities that are holding together the fragile threads of these communities. Many of the residents are Post Traumatic Stress and a ton just are not coming back. As you drive down the streets the destruction is limitless. St. Bernard was under 12 feet of water for a number of days. Houses have floated off their foundations, mold has taken over, and currently all trash pickups have been halted. Peoples lawns are now piled to the limit with debris with no one knowing when it will be removed. I'd image that a trash truck could only pick up from two or three homes before it has a full load.

While there, I served food, gutted homes, picked up debris, distributed clothes and water, and tried to help whenever and wherever I was needed. You feel like you can't stop working, for every second wasted seems like it could be spend helping someone out.

This trip was way more eyeopening than I had ever expected. I've been in a bit of daze since I got back, because I just have so much to process. One thing is for certain, I took a lot more from New Orleans than I could ever give back.

If you guys want to see my photos, here is a link to the ones I posted on Facebook. If you want to read more about Emergency Communities, please visit emergencycommunities.org. And if you guys want to hear more about my trip I would be more happy to talk!