Victoria's Louisiana Journal #1 (10/13-18)
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The taxi came to the door at 3:50, and I had just finished packing. There were too many things left undone but the time had come, so I took a deep breath, made one last mental scan of the contents of my backpack and duffel bag, and walked out the door.
Of course the “get to the airport two hours early” instruction was unnecessary, but it is easier to be too early than two late. Much less stressful, also. I slept most of the way to Houston, and also from Houston to Baton Rouge. Upon arrival, we (the volunteers who had just arrived) climbed into vans and were transported to the Baton Rouge headquarters for registration and “in-processing.” 
That involved checking in, getting an id badge, attending orientation, and signing in with our assigned group. However, by then it was too late in the day to get a work assignment, so I got a staff shelter assignment and took another van to the Flannery Road Park Recreation Center.
As I hung around the headquarters Thursday afternoon, I was surprised at how comfortable I felt. I am usually not at ease with large groups of unfamiliar people, but found that the sense of common purpose plus the almost universal friendliness of the volunteers created a sense of community that was reassuring and comforting.
The headquarters is used as the base of operations for Louisiana, and lots of volunteers are processed in and out everyday. In addition, there is a large administrative staff based here handling staffing, logistics, technology, and other aspects of Red Cross administration.
After checking in here on Thursday afternoon, one of the things I needed to do was attend Orientation: an hour presentation on the red cross and our mission here. In addition to the general information about rules and procedures, some interesting statistics were presented. The numbers (that I can’t remember right now) are staggering. So many people who have lost everything.
Headquarters has a secure covered area set up for all the volunteers' baggage, which must be left outside while taking care of business. It would be a real mess inside if everyone were lugging all of their bags around.
There was also a little info presented about the local population and culture; reminding us to be sensitive and aware of the fact that we all bring different assumptions, expectations, and behavioral standards with us. This was quite similar to information presented at the deployment meeting at the Oregon Trail Chapter. However, it is good to keep reminding us all that we need to pay attention to others. It was interesting to learn that so many of the people of Louisiana were born here and have never even crossed the border to another state.
Here are some statistics about the red cross operation here in Louisiana:
Period To Date Cases Opened 6,332 151,198 Shelters Open 81 256 Shelter Population 9,018 141,018 Fixed Feeding Sites 102 227 Mobile Feeding Units 113 139 Meals Served 181,764 8,806,068 Clean-up Kits Issued 2,723 27,014 Comfort Kits Issued 1,336 42,898 Total Relief Operations Staff 8,431 16,246 Total Volunteers 8,301 15,894 Percentage that are Volunteers 98.4 97.8
The accommodations at Flannery Rec Center were quite comfortable: two large rooms full of cots (I got one with an inflatable mattress), indoor restrooms and outdoor port-a-potties, and even an outdoor portable shower (actually a hazmat shower.) It was around dusk when I arrived at the staff shelter and after selecting a cot, dinner was served: Jambalya, prepared and delivered, free of charge, by a local restaurant. Very tasty. We dined outside in the cool breeze. 
The community here in Baton Rouge appears to be very supportive of the volunteers, providing a warm welcome, food, various sundries (towels, soap, blankets, etc.) and even laundry service. A woman in the neighborhood comes by every couple of days, picks up dirty clothes, takes them away for washing and returns them the next day. All without charge. However, since that was probably my only night at the Flannery facility I probably will not have the opportunity to take advantage of that service. It does demonstrate, however, how gracious and generous the local citizens are, even after over a month.
I brought Laura’s sleep sack (from study abroad days) and an airline blanket and pillow that magically appeared in our house. I have no idea where they came from because I would never appropriate anything from an airline. Anyway, I did not want to lug around a sleeping bag when the temperature is so high and keeping warm is not a major problem. I did get a little chilly but there were plenty of blankets around and I was otherwise quite comfortable. I made sure to bring earplugs and they worked great to keep out the natural undercurrent of sleep noise that is unavoidable in a dormitory setting. I was, in fact, one of the last to arise at around 6:20 this morning. The only issue of note during the night was the giant cockroach I almost stepped on in my bare feet on the way to the bathroom. No snakes yet though.
No sausage and eggs for breakfast. Cereal and packaged snacks were the offerings at the shelter. Then on the van back to headquarters. I arrived around 7:30 but the Shelter office did not open until 8:00 so more hanging around. Then the staff reported that they were working on some major changes with some shelters closing and possibly one opening up elsewhere, so please hang on and we will let you know. This went on all day as more people collected in the "hang on" circle. Patience and flexibility are prime qualities for all of us. The Shelter group staff members were very gracious and apologetic. They tried to keep us informed but couldn't do much more than that, and we couldn't even leave to go to the mall down the street because they could need us at any moment. But they didn't.
At 4:30 we took all the bags we had packed up that morning and returned to Flannery, where some of the group had spent the previous night. We will check back in tomorrow morning and see what has transpired overnight.
Some of the residents here walked about a mile over to a cajun restaurant for dinner, but I stayed at the shelter. The inactivity of the last two days makes restaurant eating less appealing. The food at headquarters consists of snacks and beverages rather than regular meals because it is not contemplated that volunteers will spend so much time there and I think the people who work there have cars and can drive to find food. The neighborhood is not designed for walking and there isn't a lot to walk to anyway. I suppose one could go to the food court at the nearby mall. At least I have heard that recommended as an alternative to a diet of whole wheat fig newtons and diet coke. Anyway, we had meat loaf and mashed potatoes at the shelter and that was fine.
The weather is holding at warm but not awful, which only mattered when we went outside as headquarters is air conditioned. I hope to have more to report tomorrow.
I took some pictures of headquarters and the Flannery shelter and will try to get them posted.
I was victorious over the bathroom cockroach last night. Squashed and flushed.
Two donut holes for breakfast plus coffee, then pack up and back on the shuttle to headquarters.
Still waiting for an assignment. Getting a kick out of the rumor mill at headquarters. Someone ran into a shelter manager at Walmart who said she needed more people. The Lake Charles shelter is taking on the attributes of urban myth. One of the Portland volunteers in Partner Services is heading over there this morning. Another shelter south of Baton Rouge needs people. The health services group is trying to get their people to Lake Charles but they can't get cars right away because they have to transfer the paperwork from Baton Rouge DR to Lake Charles DR, or something.
I want my swiss army knife.
Just heard that I am being sent to a shelter in New Iberia, Louisiana. Don't know I it is electronically enabled. I will try to stay in touch.
Never mind. New Iberia is out. Baker is in. Just north of Baton Rouge. Isn't this fun.
Saturday Community Services Staffing assigned five of us to a shelter in New Iberia. Then five or ten minutes after that they took back that assignment and sent our whole group (13 people) to a shelter in Baker (just North of Baton Rouge about 20 minutes.) The group received three (or four, the stories differ) vans and we were transported to the Baker shelter. We arrived there around 11:00 am and were assigned to different shifts and duties: some to the kitchen, one to admin, two to the information desk, and the rest (including me) to the "floor." That means our job is to wander around, talk to people, make sure they have what they need (within our power), and monitor the facility itself. My specific job within that was also to be to work with the children. However, there are only a couple of families left and other staff members who have history with the residents are still performing that function.
In addition to our functions, we were also allocated to different shifts: 7:00 am to 3:00 pm, 3:pm to 11:00 pm, and 11:00 pm to 7:00 am. I am on the 3:00 pm - 11;00 pm shift. All of us on tha shift were assigned to the same staff shelter under the theory that transportation and sleeping shifts would be easier to manage if we were all in the same place. (Good in theory, not working too well in practice.)
We were all then sent to our respective staff shelters to drop off our luggage and settle in. The shift one people were released to rest and return the next day to start their first shift. The shift two people, though, needed to get back by three to work, so we had about half an hour at the staff shelter and then were shuttled back to Baker to work; first being instructed to be quiet, not shower, not turn on any lights, and not disturb the people already sleeping when we returned after our shift.
Our staff shelter is God's Restoration Place, a retreat of some sort out in the boonies. (Well, not really as it is only about 10 minutes away from the Baker shelter, but it seems like the boonies when you have no transportation.) We sleep in the chapel, which holds 33 cots in one moderate sized room, and has two lavatories. There are several other buildings on the grounds, including a barn containing a washer and dryer (hooray for laundry facilities) and a couple of cottages designed to hold four people but which have been redesignated as the men's and women's shower rooms (hooray hooray for hot showers.)
Snacks, coffee, water, and some other beverages are available in the shelter but there is no real food service. This brings us to the transportation issue. We received enough vans when we were assigned, but all of the people with vehicles were assigned to the day shift and thus are living together in the Blackwater shelter (a church). That left seven to nine of us on the swing shift with no way to get to work, to restaurants, or to the store. It has been a problem for the last couple of days, begging for transport to eat and work.
The people with cars were forcefully instructed at headquarters not to release their vehicles to anyone else, which is fine in theory but doesn't work well when the people needing transport are on a different shift in a different place. It became apparent to us newbies that a lot of the rules fall by the wayside pretty quickly in the field. Some keys were passed around or people pulled off what they were doing to drive us around. However, this still was requiring an inordinate amount of time to coordinate, particularly when the Baker shelter manager was busy actually doing her job of managing the shelter for the benefit of the clients.
The Baker shelter had been losing clients to more permanent housing and was down to about ten people by the middle of last week. Then the Red Cross had to close down a huge shelter at the River Center in Baton Rouge and almost 200 of those clients were transferred to Baker. That is why they needed so many of us at once to fill staff positions at Baker. This required a great deal of work on the part of the shelter management team and there weren't a lot of resources left to deal with the details of organizing and housing the new staff group. Then yesterday, even more new volunteers arrived, completely filling up God's Restoration and Blackwater, with some people left over. In addition, there were some issues with the Health Services staff housing.
The main problem with staff transportation is not with quantity, but with allocation. The vans and the people are not in the same place at the same time. It is getting better, though. All of the cars and vans are being assigned to the Baker manager they will be signed out as needed. I was able to get a ride over there this morning (Monday) and, after a couple of hours, bring a van back so our shift could go out to breakfast. I stayed behind at our shelter to take a shower and relax for a little while, and that is what I am doing now (relaxing, listening to the birds, and watching out for fire ants.)
Yesterday (Sunday) I hitched a ride to Baker (from another volunteer) around noon and walked around the neighborhood to see what was there and find some diet coke. We are about a block away from a main road that is designed for cars, not for pedestrians, and it is not a friendly place to wander around. Lots of traffic and minimal sidewalks and pedestrian crossings. I found my diet coke at a Texaco station and had a pizza for lunch. (I will write more about food another time.)
Clothing. I am so glad I bought the lightweight pants and several shirts at REI. They are great for the weather and very comfortable, although it is cooling off quite a bit at night when long sleeves and maybe a jacket are welcome. I also got an REI baseball-type cap that is great to cover up the dirty hair when there wasn't time for a shower.
Luggage. It is interesting to observe how people either received different instructions about what to bring or applied different interpretations to the same instructions. Some people brought 21 days worth of clothes because of concern about laundry facilities. Some brought sleeping bags, pillows, and blankets: others no bedding at all. Many took the hot weather warnings seriously and are now suffering from the chill at night. Some brought towels and others expected that they would be provided if showers were available (true).
In hindsight, and after only three full days on location and one and one-half on the job, I would pack fewer clothes to make room for a sweatshirt, and might leave some of the toiletries behind, although I am not sure about that yet. I am really glad I brought my laptop. Headquarters has wireless internet access, and Baker has a dsl line I can patch into with my ethernet cable. We have power at the staff shelter so charging is not a problem. There are not enough outlets for everyone, obviously, but it seems to be working out fine so far. 
The swing shifties are back from breakfast so we have to bond now. More later.
My routine so far is: rise at 6:00-7:00 depending on how long I can sleep through the day shift preparations; wait for the day shift to leave and catch a shower if possible; first round of breakfast for the shifties (not enough room in the van for everyone); 
back to the shelter and turn over the van to second breakfast; shower and clean up cot area; socialize and update journal for posting later; 2:30 get ready for work and head over to the Baker shelter; 3:00 pm start work; 11:00 pm (approx) leave work and return to the staff shelter and go to bed.
