Katrina Evacuees in L.A. Find Connection to Home
On this day, Todd Wicker needed to do something more than simply remember a storm that devastated his home.
So he met his mother and older sister Tuesday at a small warehouse on the corner of 98th and Main streets in South Los Angeles to connect with a place they left nearly a year ago.
The warehouse, home of His Promise Disaster Survivor Services, was packed with donated food and used clothing and furniture for families who lost everything last year when hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf Coast.
Wicker, who now lives in the Miracle Mile district, picked up a few items -- a Bible, a calendar, a box of brownie mix, some juice and a couple of bags of potato chips -- but he wasn't there just to replace belongings he lost in the storm. He was also looking to experience some of the life he left behind.
"It was nice just to talk to people about my hometown," he said while mingling with evacuees and others from New Orleans. "I grew up 20 minutes from New Orleans in a little place called Marrero. There were people there who knew it."
The idea of holding the three-day giveaway around the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina came from Paul Warren, who directs the small nonprofit organization he formed with his wife, Alina.
"I was watching the disaster on television last year on Aug. 30 and decided I could volunteer for the Red Cross to help the families coming here from the Gulf Coast," he said.
He delivered prepared meals to the displaced families living in hotels, and his wife did make-overs on some of the women.
"They didn't have food. They didn't have money," Warren said. "They needed to feel better about their lives."
Eventually, Warren said he had enough information to contact evacuees directly. Then he set up a warehouse to store food and clothing donated for those families scattered throughout Los Angeles County. He also plans to ship supplies to New Orleans -- a truckload of help from "the West Coast to the Gulf Coast."
For most of the thousands of families who made their way to California -- by June 6, about 7,300 Gulf Coast households had filed California change-of-address forms with the U.S. Postal Service -- life continues to be a struggle.
Many complain about the higher cost of living: Food, housing and transportation cost more here than in New Orleans. The adjustment is particularly hard on the elderly or disabled.
