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| MITRE Volunteers Bring Comfort from the Storm June 2006
When Hurricane Katrina tore across the Gulf Coast late last August, it took the lives of more than 1,800 people, displaced hundreds of thousands more, and caused $115 billion in property damage. As many communities struggled to cope with the crisis, MITRE employees, both as individuals and in small groups, came to their aid. In the immediate aftermath of the storm, a number of staff members at MITRE's San Antonio site volunteered at shelters housing those displaced by the storm. Employees in Virginia responded to a call for volunteers from the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness, giving up their free time over Labor Day weekend to answer phones and coordinate responses to help meet the needs of hurricane victims. One MITRE staff member set up a listserv for employees to share information on ways to lend their talents to the relief and recovery efforts. Another employee with disaster response training volunteered as a case worker helping hurricane survivors access assistance at the Arlington, Va., Red Cross office. On the main MITRE campuses, a collection drive was organized in response to the U.S. Department of Education's call for school supplies for children displaced by the hurricane. A total of 78 boxes of supplies containing everything from pens and pencils to backpacks and jeans were collected and shipped to more than 20 schools in Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas. Many of the students who received the supplies sent thank you letters and drawings to MITRE. At the same time, many MITRE employees traveled to the disaster sites to provide hands-on assistance. One MITRE volunteer worked in Sidwell, a town just north of New Orleans, assembling meal bags for individuals and families at a makeshift food bank. "We fed 7,000 people that week. Many had no place to live," she said. Yet another traveled with her K9 search and rescue dog to New Orleans' Ninth Ward in October. Dispatched by the Virginia Department of Emergency Management in response to a request from the state of Louisiana, she and two other Virginia dog handlers were the first K9 recovery teams to arrive on the scene in the Ninth Ward. Other employees traveled to the area to clear debris and remove the ruined interiors of houses—a type of work known as "cuttin' and guttin'" or "mucking out." A MITRE employee who formerly lived in Waveland, Miss., made three trips to the area to perform this type of work in homes and churches, and is currently planning his fourth volunteer visit. Many MITRE volunteers have commented on how they were affected by the strength and resilience—and occasionally even the sense of humor—of the people they met during their trips to the Gulf Coast. A MITRE volunteer who helped distribute food and gut houses in Biloxi, Miss., described meeting an elderly man who rode out the storm in his house: "When the storm settled, his house had been turned around 180-degrees on the foundation, and his comment was, ‘Guess I'd better move my mailbox.'" She also said of the people she met, "They would so often say things like 'I lost my garage, but I'm really lucky. My neighbor lost his house.' or 'My house was flooded, but I'm really lucky that no one in my family was hurt.' During that week I met some of the luckiest people in the world." A MITRE employee who made two trips to help rebuild homes in Pascagoula, Miss., felt the reward of volunteering in the appreciation expressed by the people she helped. "We work ourselves ragged at home and receive minimal appreciation. In Mississippi, everyone was very thankful, even for the smallest deeds. With each visit I did not want to leave; there is still so much that needs to be done."
Page last updated: June 30, 2006 | Top of page |
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