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Katrina Recovery--The Long Road Back

Carol Causey in front of the FEMA trailer where her brother and his family are living until their home is repaired. Photo: Linda Reed Brown/CWS

June 9, 2006

by Linda Reed Brown
Church World Service

Bayou La Batre, AL. -- "My house? Oh, it's gone," said a volunteer working at the Ocean Springs Chamber of Commerce.

Those are words that can still be voiced by thousands -- evidenced by empty lots and destroyed homes we saw in Bayou LaBatre and across the coast to Gulfport. Nothing new to many who live and have been a part of everyday life in these communities, but to a visiting eye and heart, this day nine months after Hurricane Katrina speaks volumes about the daunting recovery ahead.

Carol Causey, a case worker for Lutheran Disaster Response in Bayou LaBatre, spent her morning telling us stories about the people for whom she is the best hope of a home, either rebuilt or new.

We stood in the midst of the destroyed home of a grandmother raising three grandchildren after her daughter's death to cancer who told us, "Without Carol, I'd have nothing." Carol explained that the family recently received word that the pile of rubble that was once her home now behind their FEMA trailer will be replaced with a new three-bedroom home. The home will be built with the combined resources of several long-term recovery groups -- groups that CWS help bring into fruition and are now addressing the needs of more than 1,400 families in the Bayou LaBatre, Coden Beach, Fowl River, Dauphin Island areas.

Carol, who now lives several miles inland at Irvington, said: "I grew up in Bayou LaBatre. I went through Hurricane Frederick in 1979, I've seen floods and wind since, but I haven't ever seen anything like this."

She has worked day in and day out since the hurricane hit "just helping people." She started as a volunteer handing out food, water, and whatever they could find that people needed. Now she's a skilled, knowledgeable and compassionate family advocate -- one of dozens working in the area.

The families of the caseworkers are victims of the storms as well. Shortly after the storm, the captain's license of Carol's husband expired because the Coast Guard office in New Orleans that governs such things couldn't process the paperwork. He got an extension, but has been unemployed for four months. But he has hope since the new license is scheduled to arrive next week.

For many, however, the realization of hope is not so close. Most of the folk in the area live on the shrimp and oyster industry, and if the boats aren't damaged or destroyed, the buildings and facilities that support fishing are gone. In the meantime, some folk are trying to rebuild their own homes, some are just waiting for something to happen, some are struggling to "get over it," and some are moving away. At least two families with whom Carol has worked are relocating out of the area. Another caseworker said about her own situation: "I'll evacuate when the next storm comes and not be back. I can't do this again."

Brenda Hill, co-director of the LDR project, and Michael Scott, a new staff person, sat with us in an office carved out of a former storefront. Outside their door was the buzz of people coming and going, talking on the phone, plotting a course of action for a family needing support to take the next steps in their recovery plan.

"The most important thing that we need is assurance that we can keep our case workers," Brenda said. Some of the programs that have paid them are expiring, and what I'll have to do is spread the cases out over the remaining workers," Brenda said. Today, eight caseworkers scheduled to leave in July are carrying 320 cases and that number will increase before they leave. This story is repeated with recovery groups across the area, not just this particular agency.

"We also need volunteers who do construction and can stay for awhile," she added. People can't rebuild without volunteer labor, but we have such need, and the shorter-term volunteer groups mean that it just takes so long to build a house. " Fortunately, Bayou LaBatre is seeing steady rebuilding because of church groups and Mennonite Disaster Service, whose office is next-door. The broad faith-community commitment was evidenced by a work trailer owned by the Alabama/West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church sitting in the parking lot.

Some of the things that keep people going are simple: Neighbors and friends, a meeting in Mobile that advertised a free meal and $5 cash for gas if people would drive the 25 miles to attend, and as Miss Brenda said "a refrigerator so we can keep our lunches cold."

But one of the signals of "go" that most impressed me was a simple aspect of the case management process. When all of the permits are in place; when the various funding and labor aspects are identified; when the family has done everything to make sure that the building is ready to begin; their file is transferred into a green folder. "Green... the color of GO and of money!" said Brenda.

Media Contact:
Lesley Crosson, CWS/New York, 212-870-2676;
Jan Dragin, 781-925-1526;

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