Gustav

Hi everyone!

I'm writing now from Baton Rouge, where Cindy and I have been sent to help out in the call center here as they have been inundated with calls from people looking for help with shelter, food, and other services in the aftermath of Gustav. It was a very quick turn around... we were told they needed us yesterday afternoon, and we were on a plane at 6am this morning. (And I'd like to thank Orbitz for calling me at 3am to tell me that my flight was on time. Very appreciated.)

We landed in Baton Rouge at about 11, and were brought directly to the call center. We were told that we would be working in the evening, but we had the crash course training right away, since everyone was still here. We listened in on a couple calls, just to get the feel for things and the information, then dove right in. The majority of calls were people looking for information on how and where to apply for the disaster food stamp program... (for information about the disaster food stamp program, check out the site for the Louisiana Department of Social Services- http://www.dss.louisiana.gov/). There are so many people needing to sign up for this program that people are being told to camp out hours before the offices open at 8am, just to make sure they get in.

Other calls are from people looking for information about power (about half the city is still without power); distribution sites where people can get MREs (meals ready-to-eat), tarps, cleaning supplies, and some other items; and some from people looking for shelter. We're also still getting a good number of calls from people looking for information about registering with FEMA. The calls are starting to slow down a bit for right now, but we're just waiting for Ike to come around and see what he has in store for us. So I guess we'll see. Cindy and I are here until midnight tonight, then will be back at 8am tomorrow morning to see what they need us to do.

On a side note, they brought in dinner for us... my first taste of crawfish etoufee. Turns out it's pretty good.

And on that note, I bid you all good night!