Well, my 12 hour shift at Camp Gruber was more like a 16 hour shift but that is ok. The stories I heard were amazing and horrifying. It seems that most people wanted and needed to talk most about their experience at the Super Dome in New Orleans. One woman told me of seeing a man commit suicide by jumping off the third level of the Super Dome to his death. A man told me about seeing a young man rape a seven or eight year old girl and then be killed by some people who found out what he had done. One woman talked about the filth and stentch of the sanitation or lack of I should say. She said that the bathrooms were running over and out of the restroom doors. She said the smell was horrible. When they finally were told that buses were there to evacuate them, some had to wait outside in the heat for 7-10 hours. This woman told me people were dropping like flies.
I met a 75 year old man who was deaf and alone. He had been hit by a car on his way to the SuperDome and had a broken hip. The most saddening for me was a seven year old boy, who was seperated from his mother when the buses arrived in Houston. He was there with a very distant relative, I think he said a cousin who was young too, anyway, the boy was trying to see the doctor because of a tummy ache. All he could say was, “I want my mommy”. It was very sad.
The spirit at Camp Gruber was very positive. The people were very thankful for all of the hospitality that Oklahomans had shown. Many were trying to find lost relatives, many were trying to find someone to come get them, and many didn’t have a clue what they were going to do next. Some said they didn’t think they would go back to LA but several wanted and needed to go back to actually see for themselves the disaster, probably for closure reasons and in hopes of salvaging anything. (Keep in mind these people have not seen the tv in a week and most haven’t seen the damage like we all have in our living rooms).
It was a good experience. A lot of the time I was there yesterday I just walked around the Camp and asked people if they were doing ok. Most of them opened up and wanted to tell their story. Some talked a lot. The rest of the time I stayed around the phone center. That seemed to be a hot spot for mental health. People were finally getting in touch with relatives, some with bad news of family members who had died, some with news of no money to come and get them, and some were not so lucky and were angry and frustrated for not being able to get through. I sat near a lady at the phone who had finally gotten a hold of her son who had been desperately trying to find her. All she could do was cry! She was so thankful.
I know that the media has said that they really don’t need any more donations at the Red Cross and I know there was a ton of stuff that was continually dropped off yesterday but I had several people ask for some specific things. Most of them don’t have watches and there are very few clocks out there at Camp Gruber. They have no sense of time and would love to have a watch. Other things I noticed that they needed wre laundry detergent and suitcases or duffel bags. They came with nothing and now have been able to pick up some extra clothes and some necessities but have nothing to put their stuff in. If you could let your church know this then Camp Gruber would allow church vans to come in and drop these things off. I think they could also benefit from some programs for all the children there. This may have to go through the Red Cross but there is not much for the kids to do. This may be a great time to do a traveling VBS.
Well, I am sure I have left off a lot but please continue to pray for these people. The Red Cross can still use volunteers, even just to work in the kitchen and serve food and of course, they can still use your financial support.
