October blog

 

Service hours: 6

 

For my October blog, I wanted to write about the time I spent yesterday doing service work. I volunteered from 9am to 3pm through Catholic Charities to help with Hurricane Ida cleanup in Lafitte. Lafitte was one of the hardest hit areas by the storm, and two months later much of the area is still recovering from the effects of Ida. I met the head of the operation at St. Anthony church in Lafitte, which has been distributing supplies to people in the community. She gave me a shovel, rake, and the address of where to go. I drove five minutes down the highway to the house of an older couple who needed help with cleanup. While I was driving, I noticed that many areas were still damaged or closed down. I met the family at their house, and they were very appreciative of my help. Their entire yard was still covered in a thick layer mud, including the ground floor underneath their raised house. Debris and personal belongings were still scattered around the yard. The family has not been able to move back in yet and instead has been staying in a hotel in Harvey. With the help of a small tractor with a front-end loader, we were able to clean out the mud and trash on the bottom level of their home. It was a long day of shoveling, but what stood out to me is the positivity of the people I met in Lafitte. Even with the severe damage, the residents were still thankful for what they have and were working together to make the slow return to normalcy. I am glad that I was able to be a small part of their recovery efforts.