Booklet pays tribute to Rita’s ‘Unsung Heroes’

The 2005 hurricane season delivered a one-two punch in south Louisiana.

First there was Katrina. Weeks later, her sister Rita paid a visit.

Two years later, residents’ affected by the storms hang on to their resolve, continuing to rebuild.

In commemoration of the second anniversary of hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Louisiana Spirit collaborated with Options for Independence, a Houma-based non-profit organization, to design “Louisiana’s Unsung Heroes,” a booklet filled with stories from survivors and the Options’ staff.

The booklet is designed to promote positive feeling and instill confidence and hope to its readers. The stories give readers an inside look at the trials and tribulations Louisianans faced in the aftermath of the hurricanes.

Twenty-nine Lafourche and Terrebonne residents are featured in the commemorative booklet.

H. Rene Rhodes helped organize the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center shelter for evacuees. He stepped in to help assist people that he considered “his brothers and sisters of God.”

Judy Papa, a music therapist, helped the people at the River Parish transitional living site by playing music. Almost immediately, the people were singing and moving to the beat of the music.

Liza Thomas, a hurricane survivor, found a job with Louisiana Spirit Recovery Program. She was hospitalized a week before Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. During the storm she conversed over the telephone with her mother and six children, all of which had evacuated to Terrebonne Parish. It was nine days before Thomas was reunited with her mother and children.

Roosevelt Thomas, a Terrebonne Parish School Board member, made certain that displaced children found schools to go to during their stay in Terrebonne. Thomas served as Houma’s team leader.

Georgia Naquin, a music therapist, organized a group of musicians to entertain the evacuees in the River Parish area.

Sylvia Young, coordinator of the Drop In Center in Laplace, was displaced during the hurricane. She finally laid down roots in Terrebonne Parish where she and her son began the SOHO Parenting for parents and families in the area.

Patty Whitney was one of the first volunteers at the Nicholls State University shelters. When the university turned the shelters over to the community, Whitney began organizing community volunteers to help.

Janice Jeanice read to the children at the Myra Cheramie Head Start in Lockport.

Frank W. Kidd organized church volunteers for the Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center and East Park Recreation Center shelter. He also cooked for the shelter victims at the civic center.

Chris Brunet, a food drive coordinator, organized a food drive of non-perishable items and cleaning supplies that were donated from organizations nationwide.

Bessie Lewis volunteered at the East Park Recreation Center, Plymouth Rock Baptist Church and Houma-Terrebonne Civic

Center shelters.

Corey Dion volunteered for the first time at an extreme level. He said it felt good to know that the people really appreciated his help.

The Rev. John Boss, senior pastor at First Baptist Church in Grand Isle, lead a recovery, repair and restoration of Grand Island with 40 churches and 700 volunteers.

Brenda Dardar Robichaux used her front lawn as a campsite for months following hurricane Katrina and Rita as volunteers from around the United States came to help with volunteers efforts.

Terrell Turner assisted Houma-Terrebonne Civic Center volunteers with providing school clothes for the displaced children.

Bernadette Thibodaux is an employee of the state’s Department of Health and Hospitals’ Office of Addictive Disorders. She is also a member of the Prevention Partnership and did social work at the Nicholls State University shelter.

Gayle Duet and the Lady of Sea General Hospital played a role in helping to meet prescription assistance needs of survivors.

Michelle Starks continues her ongoing work with families affected by hurricanes Katrina and Rita through daily efforts with Bayou Area Habitat for Humanities.

The Rev. Kirkland Aitken provided shelter, food, clothing, money and transportation for those affected by Hurricane Katrina in the Tri-parish area.

The Rev. Willie Bonvillain III of Howard Baptist Church opened the doors of the church to evacuees from the storm.

Albert Naquin used his home as the distribution center for the Island and the Pointe-Aux-Chene tribe using two barns to store the supplies.

Dita DeHart coordinated teen volunteers at Camp NOAH to handle food preparation and clean-up duties.

Zoenna Verret and Doris Billiot helped organize and distribute food and non-perishable items in the bayou area.

Greg Harding helped to prepare meals for more than 150 people in Terrebonne Parish.

Shay and Mandy Holloway helped provide residents with food and shelter

Becky Hebert helped wash and dry more than 200 loads of clothing a day in Thibodaux.

The Rev. Ronnie Melancon of the House of Prayer in Thibodaux was instrumental in coordinating American Red Cross efforts at Nicholls State University.

Sandy Holloway helped organize the medical inventory stored at Nicholls State University.

Walt Philpot helped to drive survivors to various locations in the Thibodaux area.

Louisiana Spirit, a federally funded Hurricane Recovery Crisis Counseling Program (CCP), has been offering counseling services for Hurricane Katrina and Rita survivors and helpers.

“The emotional support and counseling the survivors of the 2005 hurricanes receive from

Louisiana Spirit can last a lifetime,” said Thomas.

The sheer magnitude of back-to-back hurricanes resulted in massive damages to Louisiana and its communities, depressing the spirit of a nation.

“People needed someone to talk to about their feelings in a therapeutic way,” said Gail Brigham, of Louisiana Spirit and Options for Independence. “Every citizen in the state was exposed to the aftereffects of hurricanes Katrina and Rita experiencing powerful reactions related to human recovery from trauma.”

Common reactions include sleep deprivation, edginess, career and personal chaos, anxiety and depression.

Brigham said Louisiana Spirit serves all 64 parishes, providing short-term, face-to-face support for the survivors and communities with the hope of returning to pre-disaster levels of comfort.

Crisis counseling and education is provided to disaster survivors, their families, staff of local governments, rescuers, disaster services workers, business owners, religious groups and other special populations, she said.

Louisiana Spirit helps connect with formal mental health services through the Department of Health and Hospitals.

The program was created through grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The grants are administered through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

Immediately following hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the state mental health department applied for a crisis-counseling grant in response to the impact. The Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act of 1974 authorizes FEMA to fund mental health assistance and training activities in areas that have been declared a disaster by President

George W. Bush.

Currently, Louisiana Spirit employs more than 700 trained outreach and specialty counselors working in every parish across the state. The Tri-parish area has 35 crisis counselors and outreach counselors, Bingham said.

“A diverse workforce ensures knowledge and understanding of the rich cultures and diversity that is in Louisiana,” she explained. For more information, call the 24-hour Louisiana Spirit hotline 1-800-273-8255, or by calling the local chapter at (985) 868-2620.

Two youngsters shovel mud from a drive near Dulac after Hurricane Rita. A booklet titled “Louisiana’s Unsung Heroes,” Louisiana Spirit and Options for Independence tell the stories of the many Tri-parish area residents who went above and beyond to care for those impacted by the storms. * Photo courtesy of BISCO