being in joplin is still kind of crazy to me. i can't really believe that i'm a part of this massive effort. every single time i ride through the disaster zone it's just mind blowing to see the destruction. it's something i could never get used to. but the locals and the volunteers that are here helping to clean up are just amazing. it's so horribly sad to ride through the area and see nothing but piles of debris but it is uplifting to see how many people are coming out to help.
the missing persons center is closed. everyone is accounted for which is a blessing. that was emotionally draining for me. i might talk to 45 people in an hour and hear all these stories that are just horrible but how these people amazingly survived. but to just have that one phone call an hour where the people still couldn't find family members that just made everything so much harder. that was one of the hardest jobs i've ever had.
now, i'm working at the vrc- volunteer reception center. i'm the food poc here (just like i am on my team!) except i'm feeding every single americorps person (over 100) and the different volunteers that come through here everyday. this is a seriously stressful job too! having to make sure we always have a meal and snacks and water and gatorade is a challenge but it's wonderful to hear everyone say how good the food is. i'm getting the hang of it and have this weekend and all of next week planned but after that i'm kind of in the dark. trying to get everything sorted out. if anyone is willing to donate any meals or snacks or please please PLEASE let me know. we could really use it. we're all out of gatorade and our snacks are beginning to run low and a lot of places have been repeatedly donating to us and everyone else so donations are kind of dwindling.
anyways, that's about all i have for now. gotta go get back to work!
hope all is well with everyone
keep praying for joplin
xoxo,
B
Saturday, June 25, 2011
Sunday, June 12, 2011
disaster relief in joplin, ms
hey yall
i'm in joplin currently
was first in ruidoso, nm for two weeks doing trail work, yard work and in the caves. then i went to alamogordo, nm for a week and a half painting the historical buildings at white sands national monument. it was awesome working at such a beautiful place.
we were told on tuesday after work last week that we had been called to go on disaster and so we packed up that night and headed out in the morning. it took us two days to arrive and once we did the first thing we did was check in with the other americorps groups and then go on a tour of the part of the city that got hit.
it was horrible. the land is literally flat. just flat. there's debris and knocked over trees. one tree had a piece of metal that had literally sliced through the tree and was hanging half way through the tree. we saw pictures before the storm and afterwards and it's just insane to see the difference but to literally see it not just through a picture but in real life. and to watch the people in their yards. it was so horrible.
we arrived on friday night and got all unpacked and went grocery shopping and saturday morning we started work. i've been working these two days in the missing person call center. hey tell you hearing how happy people are when they tell you not to worry because they've found their loved ones. but it's heartwrenching to hear the stories. especially the ones from people who have lost loved ones and people who are still missing loved ones.
i find myself praying constantly. it breaks my heart to hear these stories. i keep getting people telling me how thankful they are for me and americorps and what we're doing for the city and it makes me so proud to say that i am a part of an organization that is making such a massive impact on this town. there's americorps nccc and americorps state and national teams here so it's just a huge gathering of us getting things done.
a couple of people on my team went into the city yesterday that wasn't affected and handed out information to people. the rest of my team working in the field cleaning up debris. there's tons of debris. we were told there's more debris here than there was after the attacks after 9/11. and after seeing it i can believe it. it's overwhelming. i keep thinking about when i was working in nola for two months and how it was five years after the storm and how people are still without houses and how houses still haven't even been gutted. it blew my mind then to see all that damage and to realize that it would probably be another five years before more houses were fixed. to have experienced that and then to experience this has been i don't even know. it's overwhelming seeing all this distruction. and having that first hand experience breaks my heart because i can see the destruction and i know it's going to take years and years to get things back up. it's so sad to know that.
but on the other hand, i've talked to every person who called with missing family members or friends if their names fell under a's or c's and everyone was so thankful and so positive and thanking god. it was very uplifting.
i'm kind of in a trance like status currently. i'm not too sure how to feel or how to act. i'm proud to be working for such an amazing cause. i'm so glad i can know i'm helping as best as i can. but it's exhausting both physically and mentally.
we live in a gym with the other americorps teams and it gets really loud at nights with all the guys snoring! we have three toilets, three sinks and 9 showers (only 7 work) for all the girls. it's a lot of waiting and not a lot of space. but luckily, by the time we're off pretty much everyone has ran to their sleeping bag to nap.
i need to go for now but i wasn't sure how much more time i'd have working here inside so figured i should go ahead and update this.
i hope all is well with everyone. please pray for joplin. pray for peace, strength, happiness and recovery. and be thankful for how blessed we are. god is good.
xoxo,
B
i'm in joplin currently
was first in ruidoso, nm for two weeks doing trail work, yard work and in the caves. then i went to alamogordo, nm for a week and a half painting the historical buildings at white sands national monument. it was awesome working at such a beautiful place.
we were told on tuesday after work last week that we had been called to go on disaster and so we packed up that night and headed out in the morning. it took us two days to arrive and once we did the first thing we did was check in with the other americorps groups and then go on a tour of the part of the city that got hit.
it was horrible. the land is literally flat. just flat. there's debris and knocked over trees. one tree had a piece of metal that had literally sliced through the tree and was hanging half way through the tree. we saw pictures before the storm and afterwards and it's just insane to see the difference but to literally see it not just through a picture but in real life. and to watch the people in their yards. it was so horrible.
we arrived on friday night and got all unpacked and went grocery shopping and saturday morning we started work. i've been working these two days in the missing person call center. hey tell you hearing how happy people are when they tell you not to worry because they've found their loved ones. but it's heartwrenching to hear the stories. especially the ones from people who have lost loved ones and people who are still missing loved ones.
i find myself praying constantly. it breaks my heart to hear these stories. i keep getting people telling me how thankful they are for me and americorps and what we're doing for the city and it makes me so proud to say that i am a part of an organization that is making such a massive impact on this town. there's americorps nccc and americorps state and national teams here so it's just a huge gathering of us getting things done.
a couple of people on my team went into the city yesterday that wasn't affected and handed out information to people. the rest of my team working in the field cleaning up debris. there's tons of debris. we were told there's more debris here than there was after the attacks after 9/11. and after seeing it i can believe it. it's overwhelming. i keep thinking about when i was working in nola for two months and how it was five years after the storm and how people are still without houses and how houses still haven't even been gutted. it blew my mind then to see all that damage and to realize that it would probably be another five years before more houses were fixed. to have experienced that and then to experience this has been i don't even know. it's overwhelming seeing all this distruction. and having that first hand experience breaks my heart because i can see the destruction and i know it's going to take years and years to get things back up. it's so sad to know that.
but on the other hand, i've talked to every person who called with missing family members or friends if their names fell under a's or c's and everyone was so thankful and so positive and thanking god. it was very uplifting.
i'm kind of in a trance like status currently. i'm not too sure how to feel or how to act. i'm proud to be working for such an amazing cause. i'm so glad i can know i'm helping as best as i can. but it's exhausting both physically and mentally.
we live in a gym with the other americorps teams and it gets really loud at nights with all the guys snoring! we have three toilets, three sinks and 9 showers (only 7 work) for all the girls. it's a lot of waiting and not a lot of space. but luckily, by the time we're off pretty much everyone has ran to their sleeping bag to nap.
i need to go for now but i wasn't sure how much more time i'd have working here inside so figured i should go ahead and update this.
i hope all is well with everyone. please pray for joplin. pray for peace, strength, happiness and recovery. and be thankful for how blessed we are. god is good.
xoxo,
B
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