Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005

I have been trying to write for days now, but it is so very difficult to put feelings into words. I have been working at the Astrodome complex for several days, trying to find the weak and frail elderly and get them out into nursing home placements.  But stepping out onto the floor of the dome or the surrounding buildings, I am invariably pulled this way and that by doctors and nurses or other volunteers.  "Are you a social worker? This person needs housing, or this person is depressed, etc."  There are babies, children, pregnant women, families and young and old who are there all by themselves.  Mostly, people want to find their families.  In each complex, there are walls and walls and walls covered with posters and notes from people looking for their loved ones.  It wasn't until Monday that the beginnings of a data base were assembled.  There just wasn't time before that. 

I am proud of my adopted city and its response to this crisis.  There has been little federal support yet.  Its mostly been Red Cross, the City of Houston, private corporations, Religious organizations and lots and lots of individuals who have pulled together in a rag tag coalition to make something happen.  Literally everyone I have talked to is doing something - from assesmbling hygiene kits, to taking a family into their homes, to babysitting for volunteers at various locations, to doing direct volunteering face-to-face volunteer work with evacuees.  Its incredible that so many people have come together.  Its far from perfect, and the situation at the larger venues is becoming more and more desperate.  There is an immediate need to get these people into some kind of dignified housing situation. 

There are estimates that there are about 100,000 evacuees in Houston.  Thirteen thousand are in the Astrodome alone.  About another 7 - 8,000 are in the two adjacent exhibit halls.  Then, there's another 4500 in the Convention Center.  The rest  -- well, they are everywhere.  In church and synagogue halls, fire stations, school gymnasiums and, of course, many, many private homes. 

The situation is almost incomprehensible and sometimes, its hard to know where to start in trying to make a difference.  We are all just trying to follow Mother Theresa and help one person at a time.  Their stories are incredible and I believe them all to be such strong people for having made it this far. 

We received no damage here in Monroe. We are in northeast Louisiana on I-20 120 miles due west of Jackson, MS and about 250 miles northwest of New Orleans. Katrina went east of us. However, we are housing several thousand evacuees in shelters, motels, churches and homes in Monroe and other places in northeast Louisiana. Our local Red Cross chapter is doing an outstanding job of running the main shelter at the Monroe Civic Center which now houses about 2,000 people. Within the next few days they expect to open a more permanent shelter which can house up to 3,000 for several months.

Obviously the needs here are great, especially for money. If any Alliance churches or members want to send money to help with our local effort I have three suggestions. Our church has developed a project of providing school supplies to the several hundred displaced students who will begin in the Monroe City School System this week. The local Red Cross has set a goal of $400,000 to help with their local effort. Of course that is a drop in the bucket of what the national Red Cross will actually spend here, but the $400,000 will all be used here with virtually no administrative costs. Another particularly worthy local effort is being carried out by the St. Vincent DePaul Society, a pharmacy run by volunteers for those who cannot afford medication. They have now taken on the serious needs of the evacuees, many of whom got here with little if any of their medication. St. Vincent's needs funds desperately. Our church will be happy to receive any donations and forward them to these organizations or use in our school supply fund. For any one interested send your check to Northminster Church, 2701 Lamy Lane, Monroe, LA 71201.

So many of you have graciously asked what you can do to help and where you can send money.  I received word last night that the American Red Cross has been asked to leave the Greater New Orleans Area because of their ineffectiveness. Now, certainly the circumstances are dire in New Orleans, but the ARC has been asked by Aaron Broussard, Jefferson Parish President -- the equivalent to mayor -- to leave even JP. I lived in Jefferson Parish. Like many of you, I saw the convoy of ARC vehicles arrive in the city, but haven't seen them since. 

Reports of the ARC's efforts in other areas are good and I know I am in an emotional state right now, but I wanted to pass this specific information along.  And to say it is a complicated situation is the understatement of the year!

Whoever gets water to the Convention Center first gets whatever money I have left! I don't care who it is.

Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005 4 a.m. EDT

We are still struggling with the news of the disaster along the Gulf coast.

There are 80+ Seabees with our battalion here in Okinawa that have still not heard from their families and do not know if they are alive or not. There are three times that number that have had their house, car and/or personal belongings completely wiped out. That means that we will have several Seabee families without any place to live. While some may have relatives to stay with or the financial means to stay in a hotel, many will not. If you know of anyone willing to host a family for a week or even a month please let me know. If you know of someone with vacant rental property that would allow a family to stay there temporarily, please let me know. I am not sure that I will have any takers on the offers, but would like to have some options if/when the need arises.

If you have any other ideas on how to assist these families in need, please do not hesitate to offer any suggestions. Not only is such a disaster unprecedented in the United States, but this has never happened to a community with 600 residents deployed half way around the world. So we are thinking outside the box as much as we can. You may contact me by phone, but please realize that Atlanta is 13 hours behind Okinawa. If trying to reach me at the number below, then call between 6 PM and 4 AM Eastern Time. You may also reach me via the email address below.

The tragic irony to all of this is that we are ourselves being threatened by a typhoon with sustained winds of 160+ MPH. At its current rate, it will make landfall Monday night. While our personal safety should not be in jeopardy, as a construction battalion, we will be the first ones called out to clean up the mess. I know there are many prayers going up for us and I sincerely appreciate it. Please feel free to forward this email to as many people as you want. Thank you for your support.

Sincerely,

Chaplain Eddy Logan

LT, USN

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 74

Okinawa, Japan

Phone: 011-81-611-732-4192

loganel@ncf.navy.mil

See Eddy's first message asking for help below.

Wednesday, Aug. 31, 10:30  a.m. EDT

Here in Mobile, the story is not a story of great suffering. Rather, it is primarily a story of inconvenience and expense. Electricity is out. Trees are down everywhere. Businesses are closed (because there's no power).

Gasoline is scarce. For many businesses in Mobile, the wholesale suppliers and distributors are/were in New Orleans. Etc., etc. At Spring Hill College, we've canceled classes for the week. At home, we are living without air conditioning and refrigeration. (By the way, I am at school in the computer lab that is powered by back-up generator.)

The story is much worse on the Mississippi Gulf Coast and in New Orleans.

We are seeing lots of people who evacuated and hearing their stories. But, the information we are getting is basically the same as what you can see through the national news media. At this time, the Corps of Engineers has not been successful in closing the break in the levee and the flood waters in New Orleans are continuing to rise.

Tuesday, August 30

I am an Alliance-endorsed chaplain serving a Navy Mobile Construction Battalion, NMCB 74, whose homeport is Gulfport, MS. This battalion is currently deployed for several more months to Okinawa. Many of the troops have yet to receive word regarding the welfare of their families and/or homes. While some may be able to request leave to return to Gulfport in order to respond to personal needs, many will not due to operational requirements or lack of personal finances necessary for such a trip.