Gulf Coast Works weblog

The trip to Habitat last week was only wonderful as they all are. Our group included 9 people, 5 from Indiana, 1 from Massachusetts, 3 from CT. We built 3 sheds from slab to welcome mat. This included vinyl siding the buildings to match the houses. Habitat is having a “Big Build” this week with AmeriCorp volunteers building 20 houses in one week start to finish in Gulfport. Because of this we didn’t start any houses but did “finish up” work. Building the sheds was like building a mini-house start to finish.

The weather was like instant summer and fortunately, not too hot, yet. Every day began with breakfast at the Habitat facility and then a quick run to Joys of Coffee for a cappuccino to start the work day. Volunteering doesn’t mean that you have to suffer. Did I mention the fruit turnovers and croissants? These treats meant that we had to work a little harder because it really looks bad when you go to a disaster area to volunteer and gain 10 pounds. Customers in the coffee shop would see our Habitat shirts and come over to thank us. One man bought us coffee after finding out that we were volunteering. Then on our last day, a customer in the coffee shop who had thanked us for coming each morning sang “So long, Farewell” (Sound of Music) to us when she found out we were leaving. sniff.

The Thursday that we were there the new and much higher Bay St. Louis Bridge opened. This was a huge event for the Coast. It’s the single biggest return to normalcy they’ve seen since the storm. Their Winn-Dixie Grocery store still hasn’t reopened and residents have to drive 20 miles to Gulfport for groceries! Bay St. Louis was where Katrina first touched shore. The town is maybe the size of Newtown, CT and was devastated by a 30 foot storm surge. Residents have since had to drive out of their way for about 20 miles because the 3 mile bridge was out. There was a big celebration with thousands of people from all over the Coast attending including four Habitat volunteers. My son and husband were volunteering at the Habitat Musician’s Village in New Orleans and met us at the party. What a gift to be able to be there for this happy event. The people who live there are so very grateful for every sign of progress and still, ask for nothing.

For the uninitiated, the 30 mile drive from East Biloxi to Bay St. Louis looks like the last piece of undeveloped oceanfront real estate in America. The green leafed (vs storm brown) oak trees have amazed everyone with their recovery and foundations of former homes and businesses have been overgrown with grass and wildflowers. We had to keep reminding ourselves that not too long ago, this strip was heavily developed with a thriving tourist, fishing and recreational boating industry as well as gracious antebellum homes that defined the Coast and the history of its people. The emptiness is most pronounced at night when driving down Hwy 90. There are few and scattered lights in the distance and the silence is unnatural. They still have such a long way to go. On the bright side, or semi-bright, there is more building going on than I’ve seen since my first trip and a new “normal” has settled in. The newspapers have more to report than just Katrina news, more businesses have reopened and there’s more traffic on the roads.