I've been working with the East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity in Slidell, Louisiana for about four weeks now.  I've learned so much about what it takes to build a new home.  I've enjoyed working alongside volunteers from across the nation.  The day begins at 5:30 am when my teammates and I wake up and get ready for work.  As the weeks pass, I'm finding more difficult to get out of bed each day as my body is showing signs of fatigue.  Some days are easier than others.  On average, my teammates and I work 60 hours a week, sometimes more.  I've been working on a site in Lacombe, approximately 15 miles from Slidell.  If anyone has ever worked in housing construction, they know how slow the early stages can be.  We've been working hard to make forms for the foundation.  I've been hammering 2 x 4's, cutting 2 ft, 3ft, and 4 ft stakes with the circular saw, and nailing plywood to forms of all different lengths.  I really like the work we are doing and I know the soon-to-be new homeowners are very happy to have us here to help them move on with their lives. 

Life on the Gulf Coast has changed incredibly since Hurricane Katrina made landfall on August 29, 2005.  I don't know if life or the people will ever be the same again.  I've spent time seeing the damage in St. Bernard Parish, New Orleans East, and Waveland, Mississippi.  These places were absolutely devastated.  Many businesses and restraurants are still closed 11 months after the storm.  Gas stations are abandoned.  Shops are covered in spray paint warning people to stay out.  I saw a message saying, "you loot, we shoot."  Windows are broken and glass is everywhere.  Piles of debris remain on sidewalks and street corners for months until they are picked up and taken to a dump site.  Many homes look today as if nothing has been done to clean up the mess.  It's almost as though the hurricane just hit last week.  FEMA trailers are everywhere.  Some places along the beach in Waveland were washed away by the 35 foot storm surge; all that remains is the foundation and stairs leading to where the front door once stood.  I have never seen anything like this in my life.  Driving by such devastation is extremely depressing.  Seeing the damage makes my stomach sick.  The people affected by the hurricane, especially in areas like New Orleans, walk the streets as though they are in a daze.  So many lost everything they owned that they don't know what to do with themselves.  They have given up and lost all hope.  We've all seen the news reports on television and read the newspaper articles and seen the pictures in magazines.  Actually being here and seeing the destruction on site is a different reality.  My friends and I from AmeriCorps NCCC are doing everything we can to help out.  We want to clean up and allow life down here to return to normal, but that will take many years and lots of work from volunteers.  The Gulf Coast recovery is long-term.  The work that needs to be done is dirty as well as physically and mentally exhausting.  The summer heat and humidity are oppressing.  The air even at 6 am is so thick you can feel it.  Once you start sweating, your shirt sticks to your skin.  This project has been a great experience.  I don't know how people live here.  Working in the Gulf has made me appreciate how lucky I have been to live in places like Santa Barbara, CA and Denver, CO where there are no hurricanes.  The people down here are the most resiliant I have ever met.  I don't know what I would do if I were in their position and lost everything I owned in a storm like Katrina.  They are incredible people.  

If anyone reading this blog wants to volunteer a week of their time or knows someone who would like to, please contact the East St. Tammany Habitat for Humanity office in Slidell, Louisiana at (985) 639-0656 or visit online at www.esthfh.org.  We need as much help as we can get!