By Richard Wall
June 16, 2006—FEMA's June 1 shutdown of its last four camps housing volunteers in New Orleans has crimped the rebuilding effort and resulted in fewer volunteers doing less work at a critical time, say local authorities.
Volunteers are the key force in the post-Hurricane Katrina cleanup of blighted and abandoned houses, and FEMA says it's time for local communities to foot their bill. Four New Orleans parishes were affected by the closures and are scrambling to provide "3 hots and a cot" as the least they can do to attract volunteer help.
It's a tougher sell now. Consider that St. Bernard Parish, where almost every home was flooded, now has to ask volunteers to pay $100 a week for their room and board. The damaged Willie R. Smith Elementary School, which began housing them June 1, was repaired and converted with emergency donations to the parish from Operation Blessing, Habitat For Humanity and Shell Oil.
"The faith-based community, non-profits, and Shell have stepped up where the federal government had abandoned us," says David Dysart, a Marine Reservist and a non-resident who came to New Orleans as a volunteer first responder right after Katrina and is staying as St. Bernard Parish's director of recovery. "Before FEMA closed the camps, I had as many as 2,600 volunteers. Now I have 800."
Dysart says the volunteers, who, unlike paid contractors, sift through wrecked homes to salvage personal belongings, are doing the cleanup that has to occur before people will come back. He has seen the physical work and hopeful spirit of the visitors from all over the world inspire St. Bernard residents to not give up on their community.
The parish, which has a ruined infrastructure, almost no tax base, and awesome rebuilding costs, can't do the work. A backlist of 6,000 requests for help to gut houses has forced the parish to make triage decisions.
Dysart says they hope to clean 1,500 homes that belong to the elderly and handicapped by August 29. The volunteers will begin rebuilding those homes before moving on to others for cleanup and repair.
Contractor help needed
"Builders and contractors can help us out immediately by sponsoring volunteers. They will not find a better bang for their buck," says Dysart, who notes that his cost per worker is $15 a day where FEMA's was $120. "And when we start rebuilding, we'll need every skilled volunteer we can get. I can promise a well-run operation and a meaningful experience."
Plumbers and electricians to certify work are especially needed. St. Bernard Parish will recognize their certification from other states for volunteer work.
Volunteers arrive at St. Bernard's Willie R. Smith Camp Hope on the weekend for safety and deconstruction training. Protective equipment is provided, as are shelter rooms, a cot, showers, meals, laundry facilities, transportation to the job, and tools. Portable toilets are at work sites and medical personnel are on standby.
All volunteers should register through Habitat For Humanity in New Orleans, which provides liability coverage. Go to www.habitat-nola.org or call 504-861-2077.
For more information on St. Bernard's volunteer worker effort or to make a donation, go to www.Camphopeonline.com, or call 504-278-4491.
Richard Wall lives and writes in St. Augustine, Florida.
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