Hello from the Camp Algiers Internet Café in New Orleans, LA!

Arrived in New Orleans today for a Spring Break helping folks who lost their homes in Hurricane Katrina. A classmate at GSPP has been working with Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now, or ACORN for the semester. She had kindly hosted us for some home gutting and meeting folks affected by this disaster.

I’m eager to get started.

Today was a travel day, and settling in at the FEMA camp in Algiers, just across the Mississippi River from New Orleans proper. Actually, where we are staying is a form of borough, like Brooklyn to Manhattan.

The woman who checked me into the camp tells me that the camp will close in two weeks. It was slated to close two weeks ago. She tells me, "FEMA thinks volunteers should find their own housing." I don't think it's quite that simple. She asks me and others to call congressmen to push for an extension. There are still people that want to help who need a place to stay.

I’m impressed by the operation they’ve set up here. There are massive tents that sleep 200-300 people. There’s a giant canteen with food catered by the local casinos. The residents are mostly Americorps volunteers and church groups. Lots of 18-22 year olds are around.

My stay here was set up by ACORN. Without the connection I don't think I would have come. How many others will pay their way to come help if they know they have a place to stay? It seems silly to shut down when people are willing to help. However, I understand that this is a costly operation.

Since I arrived in the afternoon I was only able to see a small portion of the city before dark. The Superdome has a brown scar on its roof, and a defiant sign announcing its reopening for the Saints-Falcons game in September. Took a quick stroll down Bourbon Street, which looks like it was never touched by Katrina, save the vulgar shirts referencing the storm displayed at gift shops that also sell shot glasses and plastic beads.

Tomorrow we begin our first day of gutting homes. I hope to learn about the family that lives in the home I work at. I want to come to an understanding of their lives they have built under that roof, and their hopes for the future.

For now, I’m bunking down with hundreds of other volunteers that have donated their time to help another in need. It will be good to sleep with such good souls.