CAP Hurricane Relief Update - October 10, 2006
(Please see pictures below)
We’ve had quite a bit going on since the last update:
Mary Culver brought clothes for the Jackson’s (see last update). We picked up more formula from the post office and now have a half pallet ready to go. Dr. Wally Retan has been researching information for free clinics to make sure volunteer docs and nurses have malpractice coverage. He has really gotten involved collecting sample meds and helping the clinic in D’Iberville with their 501c(3) application and other paperwork to ensure that volunteer docs and nurses will be covered. Hopefully recruiting medical staff will be next! ☺
We circulated a desperate call from D’Iberville in September for insulin and a clinic in West Virginia, via the Assoc. of Free Clinics, came to the rescue. Dr. Retan also collected insulin and that was sent to the Volunteers of America Free Clinic in Gulfport—also in urgent need of insulin. Many specific meds are on the urgent list of many clinics. If you have sample meds to donate, please let us know. We are also looking for a pharmacy to store meds for us as they will not be kept in the warehouse.
UAB donated more misc. medical supplies! Becky made 3 trips in the van! Also, Sara Rose donated two car loads of misc. medical supplies she originally got from Dr. Retan to be able to set up a clinic in Blount Co. Most of these supplies have landed in New Orleans area- Common Ground, Lower 9th Ward Clinic, Jefferson Comm. Healthcare, LSU Clinic. Thanks Sara Rose! Also thanks to my cousin, David Lobman who spent his birthday helping me haul the stuff!
The free clinic in Pass Christian has now closed.
John Clark took 90 kits to a free pharmacy in Mobile, AL. We mailed 1 kit to a woman in Baton Rouge and gave her contact info to a free pharmacy in Baton Rouge.
Linda and Roger James (contra dancers from FOOTMAD) donated a nice stove and ceiling fan which we will be able to ship down early next week!
Jerry and Debra Gordon from Blountsville (more dancers) took a car load of misc. medical supplies to Common Ground. They will be volunteering for a week with the Common Ground Cooperative.
Darlene Negrotto (of Vulcan Park) took 7 boxes of diabetic kits to NOLA (Common Ground). It amazing how many kits we have distributed this way. Thanks Darlene!!
Answering the call for a little help to sponsor our trip to NOLA and give us a few bucks to send kits occasionally via UPS were:
Darlene Negrotto $100.00 (this donation was to honor the Rabbi and Reverends who came together to hold a service to commemorate the 1 year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina--Rabbi Jonathan Miller of Temple Emanu-El will be joined by Cantor Jessica Roskin, also of Emanu-El; Rev. J. Stephen Jones of Southside Baptist Church; Rev. Dr. Christopher M. Hamlin, Chaplin at UAB’s 1917 Clinic and Rev. Dr. Edwin G. Hurley of South Highland Presbyterian Church (USA).
Patsy Wideman $50.00
Michael Calvert $100.00
And the good folks at Birmingham FOOTMAD (that’s a contra dance group by the way) collected $58.00!
My sincerest thanks to you all!! In addition to being able to send out four packages, Janet Raines and I (both FOOTMAD dancers ☺) made a trip to Waveland and New Orleans. Here is what we did.
Waveland, MS—Kathleen Johnson hosted a workshop and I presented my first power point presentation on how to use the Citizen Action Team (CAT) Relief Database to about 6 guinea pigs. Representatives from clinics, Salvation Army, and churches were present and appreciative! We spent the night at a church volunteer camp.
BTW- the van broke down about 20 minutes outside of Waveland. Janet stayed with the van to wait for AAA (what a great travel partner she turned out to be!) and I got a ride from a nice man who went way out of his way to drop me off at city hall in Waveland. The next day, Betty who works at City Hall woke her son and asked for the keys to his Yukon so we could continue on to NOLA as planned. “You’re giving my car to complete strangers --to go to New Orleans-- overnight!” he exclaimed. Her reply, “they aren’t strangers, they’re volunteers” and off we went.
New Orleans--I must tell you that it is not so easy to find your way around New Orleans. However, we managed to deliver misc. medical supplies and 12 diabetic kits to a clinic that is about to open in the lower 9th Ward and then find the LSU clinic which is being housed in the old Lord and Taylor building near the stadium. A busy place with 2 police officers posted as you enter. We dropped off 21 kits. Then off on another adventure to find our way to the west side of NOLA to drop off more misc. medical supplies and 36 kits to Jefferson Community Healthcare Clinic. They rolled out the red carpet for us! Helped us unload and invited us to chat with the doctor and staff who wanted to know all about who CAP was etc. Janet directed us to a quick but yummy dinner back in New Orleans before crossing the bridge (again, not so easy) to Common Ground Health Clinic in Algiers where we announced ourselves by accidentally setting the alarm off on the Yukon - repeatedly, and delivered more misc. med. supplies and 12 kits. We spent the night in a house a few blocks away that is used to house volunteers working in the clinic. We had an interesting chat with one of the herbalist working at the clinic who proceeded to tell us that there are shootings in the neighborhood every week. Not to worry—this only happens on the weekend and it was only Wednesday. We walked to the clinic the next day and found the neighborhood full of very nice friendly people. Met my contact Anne who introduced us to everyone there and showed us around and off we went to the French Quarter where we met Charlotte from ARNO (Animal Rescue New Orleans) who took us to cool little place “only known to locals” for lunch. Her stories of animal rescuers drudging through floating dead bodies really gave us a picture of what the “early days” were like and reminded us of what the people there have gone through. She also enlightened us a bit on the local political scene. Before heading back to Waveland (where Betty’s son was probably wondering if he was going to get his Yukon back) we visited ARNO’s operation and met Robin and lots of cats and dogs. The place was really clean and well kept. Robin had just enough time to show us each room before being called away on an animal emergency. They are doing a wonderful job. Not only rescuing animals still, including feeding stations and spay and neuter programs, but housing pets for owners who can’t keep them while they are gutting their houses etc. (so important for people’s peace of mind). (Please see our animal rescue page).
We spent another night in Waveland and basically killed time waiting for the van to be fixed at Wavefest. Oh yeah, I borrowed another vehicle to take a volunteer to the airport in Gulfport and ran out of gas on I-10 (my bad- I was told to get gas, but forgot). No worries, it was a truck and had a gas can in the back with enough to get me to the next exit.
Kits (24) were left in Waveland for St. Andrews Mission Clinic in McComb, MS to pick up and 2 small boxes of med. Supplies and (18) kits were left for Volunteers of America clinic in Gulfport.
The van’s transmission died the day after we got back from our trip. ☹ We will try to sell it to get back the money we put into it in Waveland. It was a wonderful tool for us-- hauling stuff to and from the warehouse and made several trips to the coast with supplies. Thank you again, Frank Waddell of Charleston, SC, for this kind donation!
Special thanks this month to Becky’s (aka Grandma) friend’s Rod McSwain and Keith Fitchett who have been working in the warehouse almost everyday helping to get things boxed up and ready for shipping. Rod did a great job of sorting the misc. medical supplies! Also, to Becky’s friends Mike, Reggie, Roundtree and Robert who help at the drop of a hat. We have called on their strong help on several occasions.
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