Here is an e-mail I received on 8 September 2005 from a family friend. I meant to post this sooner, but have been very busy.

Hello folks! I apologize for the “mass email”, but if I attempted to write you all individually, you would never hear from me. So here it is. I am sorry if I repeat myself but I have had so many conversations in the last two weeks, they all start to blend together.
We have turned off the news at our house. Most of what they tell is simply too negative for us to hear. Granted, the whole situation is rough & sad & wrong, but I don’t need to be told HOW rough and in how many ways it is wrong. We feel like it is simply counter-productive to what needs to happen now.
As of last count, there are 42 shelters in the Baton Rouge area. Some are Red Cross affiliated, some are not. Almost all of them are full, but it is difficult to keep track because people leave to be with family, people are still being rescued from New Orleans, people are moving around. Our church is in contact with at least four. We organized a “Cooking Angel” program with our parishioners to feed 150 people at a local shelter. Our people brought in cooked food from a menu we planned and 14 of us, including A. & I and the kids, brought it there yesterday for the first day. We will do it again on Friday and continue this 2 days a week, every week, until the shelter doesn’t need us anymore.
We also took donations of shoes, air mattresses, canned goods & other specific items shelters had requested. We hauled that over yesterday in six vehicles packed to the ceilings.
At Faith Baptist Church, the shelter we are cooking for, they are still receiving evacuees. Five came in yesterday while we were there. One man had just been rescued from his attic, where he had been since last Tuesday, with his wife, who had drowned. He survived on bottled water & when they came to rescue him, he did not want to leave without her. He had spent all this time holding onto her so she would not float away. I know this sounds morbid and horrible, but this is some of the reality. Reality that is right here, on our doorstep. It is not a story on the news, it is not something I just watch on TV. It is something that sat across from me in a room in the church, staring as in shock, weeping occasionally. It is someone who I can reach out and touch. This is tangible. And real. And deeply sad.
A lot of you ask what you can do. I know it is frustrating to watch all this occur and feel like you need to DO something. Most of us feel the same way. And we feel like no matter what we do, it is never enough. Honestly, the needs change so fast and relief comes through in such large amounts, it is difficult to gauge what the needs are. The biggest need is labor. People. People to distribute donations. To load and unload trucks. To spend the night at shelters. To hand out food to those standing in line for Social Security checks, Red Cross debit cards, food stamps & canned food. Because, to be quite frank, these people who have nothing because of Katrina, did not have all that much to start out with. Because if they had, they would not be in a shelter. They would have gone with family somewhere.
Our church is taking a financial collection this weekend. Part of the money will go to the diocese for their larger-scale efforts. Part of it we will keep and distribute as we see fit. We will probably give some to a church down the road who is sheltering 50 and needs to fill evacuee’s prescriptions. Part of it will go to our local St. Vincent de Paul, who is giving out school uniforms, clothing, food and financial assistance to all those in need.
Another need we have recognized within our church is for those evacuees who are staying with families here. There are LOTS of parishioners who are housing 15-20 people in their homes. So we are hoping to start some program to help feed all those people. Feeding 20 people 3 times a day, every day, gets expensive. We want to help them as well.
This week shelters have been moved because a lot of them were in school gymnasiums. Since school began this Tuesday, some shuffling had to occur. They have begun letting people back in to Jefferson Parish. I think tomorrow St. Bernard will allow people back in. This should decrease the amount of people in BR… although that might be temporary. I don’t think those residents will be allowed to stay, since most of the areas do not have power or water.
Baton Rouge’s population has doubled in size. Traffic is next to impossible to navigate. Since we live on the outskirts, we STAY in the outskirts. A drive into BR and back times at 2 and 1/2 hours now. No thanks. My little corner grocery store works just fine.
Real estate is flying. All of the houses in our subdivision that were for sale are sold. And that is a common story around town. Lots of evacuees have decided to simply stay. Big businesses based in NO bought up housing for their executives to stay at. Renting anything is a pipe dream at best.
Gas prices are pretty normal here. $2.46 a gallon down the street.
Crime is not any higher than normal. Our poor, exhausted police officers have been doing a terrific job maintaining order. A lot of rumors have been going around about people getting killed for groceries and other stories of that nature, but not so. Initially there were some incidents around town but it has calmed down.
Well, you wanted details, so there they are. In no specific order, just as my brain shoots them out.
What I would like to advise in all of this is to concentrate on the positive. Every where we turn down here are examples of generosity, kindness & compassion. People trying to reach out in the ways they know how. Some upsides:
* The local thrift stores are no longer accepting clothing because they are completely full . Now they are focused on trying to distribute it to those who need it.
* The SVDP Soup Kitchen is feeding 5000 people a day a hot meal and giving them a bag lunch to take with them.
* Semis and tractor-trailers are pouring into the area with donations from all over the country. Shelters who receive extra of something that other ones need, send it out.
* Organizations in other states are sending for families, offering them homes, jobs, schools & a new life.

So many people are giving in so many ways:

* Vets are housing pet evacuees for free.
* Offices are donating space & equipment to small businesses out of NO so they won’t have to declare bankruptcy.
* Retail stores are handing out school supplies for all our new students.
* Laundromats are doing shelters’ laundry for free.
* Students are going to shelters and reading to the little kids and playing with them, just to give them a sense of normalcy.

People are taking their gifts & talents and finding a use for them. Every day it overwhelms me. It makes me smile and it makes me cry.
Anyway, thank you for all your thoughts & prayers. Please continue, as it is going to be a long haul. And long after the media leaves & the sensationalism is gone, there will still be work to be done & people to be helped, so keep them all in your hearts.