Life in the village May 2

This is quite a village which is surrounded by a wire fence. There are security guards at the 3 gates so we can feel safe inside the fence but be outside. We're not to leave the village walking, alone or in a group, as this part of Biloxi is not deemed very safe. There is an asphalt track inside the stadium where people walk or run. I walked this afternoon for the first time in Biloxi as I've been sitting around too much. I'm not getting up at 5 - 6 am to go walking as some of my roommates do. There are 9 trailers in the compound where the long-term volunteers live on our half. The other half of the stadium is where the Habitat Virginia groups stay and are managed by someone else.

Today was a better day and I feel I helped accomplish some things. We go to the office about 8 am and leave 4 - 5 pm. Every Wed morning a rep from all the agencies working under East Biloxi meet to give updates of what's happening. 90% of the homes were under water in East Biloxi. This was about 3000 homes and only 425 have been finished for people to move back so there are many left to do. 69 homes are in process this week and 6 new homes under construction (rebuilds). BFS has about 15 in various stages while Samaritan Purse has about 30 homes. I learned there are other groups that I didn't mention yesterday such as Back Bay Mission of Biloxi, Hands On, Youthbuild and CWC. (I edited my blog from yesterday with more correct info.) We found out about a new grant for college youth which will help with expenses/transportation to come to MS and help. We also received a manual this morning with guidelines for remodels or rebuilds - the how's and why's, process, etc.

I'm working with Kris or Carol (who is head case manager). It's rather slow right now with no new applications but they figure there are still about 2500 homes out there needing assistance. People can get up to $20,000 from Oprah, up to $10,000 from Salvation Army so they apply to all the agencies to get enough if they didn't have insurance or MS Governor Grants or FEMA. We went to WalMart and Lowes this afternoon to get curtain rods for 12 windows and shelving for closets as this lady will soon be able to move into her home. I learning a lot about the process which is good.

Today was cooler and had been forecast for thunderstorms but now they say tonite or tomorrow but under the stadium is about the safest place to be in Biloxi for storms. There were funnel clouds spotted over western Biloxi. Just another day.

Take care and God's blessings on you.
Phyllis