Miss. Carol and volunteer take a break from cleaning to eat lunch

OBI moves trailer into Miss Carol's driveway

Slidell, LA -Standing in front of her severely hurricane damaged home, Miss Carol was in tears. The floods had gutted her home, and piles of debris, furniture and refuse lay in her front yard. But Miss Carol’s tears were not of sadness, but of joy.

FEMA had provided her with a trailer home, but because of all the debris cluttering her yard and driveway, they were forced to park it down the street. Operation Blessing President Bill Horan and a city official were driving through her neighborhood to assist another resident when Miss Carol spotted them. Stepping out into the street she waved them down.

“We stopped to talk with her,” said Horan. “She explained that she was disabled, struggling, and frustrated. The trailer had been delivered the day before, but there was no room to pull it in her driveway.”

Miss Carol’s house was one of thousands flooded by storm surges bringing six to eight feet of muddy water inside. Homeowners have been struggling in sweltering heat for weeks, emptying their homes of sodden contents, with mold and bacteria thriving in the now dank and darkened homes. Many wrestle with depression as they watch their homes regurgitate huge piles of debris; each pile, a sad collection of a family’s treasured belongings.

Miss Carol’s possessions were scattered in piles everywhere. Horan quickly made a call and an Operation Blessing crew equipped with a loader arrived and cleared all the debris along the street in front of her house. Another call to OBI’s Slidell headquarters, and within an hour, a team of volunteers from AmeriCorps were dispatched to her residence. They cleared out the debris and carefully moved her belongings out of the driveway.

Soon the trailer was backed into driveway, and the city water department was notified that it was all set and ready for hookup to sewer, water and power.

And that’s when Miss Carol began to cry.

“She cried and thanked us for caring about her,” said Horan. “I told her that’s what Operation Blessing is here for – to help people just like her.”

HOW YOU CAN HELP
You can help by making an online donation toward OBI's disaster relief efforts. With your support, we can continue to provide emergency relief and recovery. Please make an on-line donation today.

 

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