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June 21, 2008 - The Times-Picayune
Locals answer the call to Iowa
By Nicole Dungca
When Heather Hilliard was asked whether she could go to Iowa to help victims of the floods, she had just one question:
"Where can I get tennis shoes?" she asked.
After obtaining the proper footwear, Hilliard, the chief administrative officer of the Second Harvest Food Bank of Greater New Orleans and Acadiana, was on her way to Cedar Rapids.
Hilliard's food bank is just one of the various local organizations that have quickly mobilized volunteers to flooded areas of the Midwest, offering help in a situation that stirs memories and parallels the devastation wrought by Katrina in 2005.
Massive floods in the Midwest began weeks ago, when heavy rains caused the Mississippi River to gush over its banks.
Waters are still threatening towns along the Mississippi. Four levees broke on Thursday, and floods were expected to worsen Friday night.
Iowa, which had also been struck by two tornadoes over the past week, was particularly hard hit. Cities such as Des Moines were inundated, displacing thousands of citizens.
Local organizations such as Second Harvest, the Archdiocese of New Orleans/Catholic Charities and the Red Cross have been quick to offer help, from food distribution to disaster relief programming.
Hilliard, who heads disaster relief and response on a national incident team for Second Harvest, distributed food in Iowa before returning to New Orleans Wednesday.
With fewer than 15 people on the staff, the Northeast Iowa chapter of Second Harvest Food Bank needed multiple volunteers to deliver food to community sites such as high schools and churches, she said.
Some members of the Southeast Louisiana chapter of the Red Cross are also helping with food distribution. Three volunteers are helping in six affected states, working in kitchens and mobile feeding vehicles, while a fourth volunteer is working with client casework, said Bill Salmeron, emergency services director for the chapter.
Another volunteer from New Orleans is using lessons learned from Katrina to help Iowans develop disaster response programs. Colleen D'Aquin, director of emergency management at the Archdiocese of New Orleans/Catholic Charities, is helping archdioceses in Iowa find volunteer disaster coordinators to head up response teams.
D'Aquin is also working to bring to Iowa a program called Operation Helping Hands, which assists elderly, disabled and uninsured homeowners gut and rebuild their homes.
Another program is being developed to help families assess financial and emotional situations so they can develop personalized recovery plans.
"We're more focused on the long-term recovery. We're in it for the long haul," D'Aquin said.
Some New Orleans volunteers will stay in the Midwest for weeks.
D'Aquin, who was originally deployed for just one week, has already gotten her stay extended to two weeks. Red Cross volunteers are generally dispatched for three-week stints and Hilliard expects to return to the area early next month with a fellow employee.
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