Bonner Scholars Lend Working Hands to Katrina Devastation

Heather Camp observed first-hand how much devastation can happen overnight and how long it takes to recover. Mother Nature can, at times, be merciless.

Camp, the associate director of the Bonner Center for Civic and Community Engagement, recently returned from a trip to New Orleans. She, along with 15 Bonner Community Scholars from the College and program assistant Melissa Borotto, traveled to Camp Premiere at St. Bernard Parish to assist in relief efforts to homes stricken by Hurricane Katrina. Students joined the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA) and the Habitat for Humanity of New Orleans from May 7-14 and spent a week gutting (also called ‘mucking’) houses so they can either be rebuilt or demolished.

"I did a lot of research before I went down and no matter how many blogs I looked at, pictures can’t possibly communicate the degree of devastation," said Camp. "I told the students going down there that some things were going to be disorganized and frustrating, but to keep a positive attitude and do whatever they could to help. For many of these students, I think it was a life-changing experience."

The Bonner Scholar students were stationed in Chalmette, Louisiana, which is about 20 miles southeast of New Orleans. Chalmette was hit extremely hard and is in the process of recovering from four major occurrences: Hurricane Katrina; levees that broke; an oil spill by Murphy Oil, which dispensed over 1 million gallons throughout the town; and Hurricane Rita, which swept through just days after Katrina.

Students spent the majority of their time performing hard, physical labor, including the demolition of damaged walls, pulling up carpeting, carrying out furniture, and removing debris.

The students began their day at 6 a.m. and divided into two groups. One group went to work on a larger house in an upscale community, while the second group rolled up their sleeves in two homes located in a middle-class neighborhood. The homeowners, who have been living outside of New Orleans since Katrina hit, returned to Chalmette upon hearing the news their homes were up on the list to be gutted. They had difficulty even walking through what was left of their homes, and simply requested that any personal items deemed salvageable be saved. As one homeowner expressed, “I will never live below sea-level again.”

During the evenings, Camp and Borotto joined students in discussions on issues related to what they were observing and experiencing. Topics included the responsibilities of Murphy Oil and insurance companies, comparing government actions between the September 11 attacks and Katrina, the intensified difficulties for low income families, and the organization (or lack their of) in local, state, and federal aid.

The current situation in Chalmette is murky at best. Very few residents are living in town; businesses are either inoperable or unable to sustain themselves due to the lack of population; school classrooms are held in trailers; and out of 6,000 homes that have signed up for mucking, only 2,000 have been gutted and assessed.  While the Bonner students provided great humanitarian assistance that will generate prideful memories, the images of devastation are not something they’ll soon forget.

"It’s the hardest physical work they’ve ever done," noted Camp. "They were exhausted by the end of the day, but there was a great sense of accomplishment that we gutted three homes and really helped three families. It was inspiring to see so many volunteers down there who are willing to put their lives on hold and help out people in need. Several of our students are attempting to make plans to return to New Orleans in June."