Lilburn couple goes 
a long way to be neighborly 

   In the spring of 2005, Al Kates went to a men’s breakfast at his Lilburn church. The speaker, Al Shope, Liaison Coordinator of Volunteer Development for Lutheran Disaster Response, was recruiting volunteers to help in Carlton County, Georgia, which was still trying to recover from Hurricane Jeanne which had hit in September of 2004.

   Shope explained the three stages of disaster recovery: rescue, mainly finding bodies; relief, about four months of attending to basic needs; recovery, a stretch of at least four years.

   Kates thought it over, and before he could decide what to do, Katrina ravaged the Gulf Coast a year ago August 29 and LDR redirected its attention there.

   Kates and his wife, Mary Kay were planning a week at their timeshare condo in Florida, but instead, they decided to get involved with LDR in Mississippi.

   They had no preparation for the devastation they had to deal with.

   “The first time,” said Mary Kay, “there was no electricity, no phones, and not even street signs so we didn’t even know where we were.”

   “It was the period known as mucking out,” said Al. “We had to remove anything that would absorb moisture. We were gutting people’s homes and throwing their possessions on the curb to be taken to the dump.”

   “We were even throwing away medicine and rotten stuff in people’s freezers,” said Mary Kay.

   Despite the horrors they faced, Al and Mary Kay stuck with it, making five more trip over the last year to help victims transition from the relief to the recovery stage. And along with the physical and financial challenges of rebuilding a whole community, volunteers and victims alike deal with the criticism and cynicism of those who have never been there.

   “People say, ‘If we were there’ and go on about what they would have done. But no one knows what they’d do until they’ve been there,” said Mary Kay. “These people lived it and it’s not up to us to judge them. We just listen to them. They are demoralized and depressed and need to tell their stories before they can move on.”

   Al estimates it will take at least eight years to achieve a reasonable recovery.

   “To get an idea of the degree of damage, imagine a two mile swath from Canton to Macon being totally wiped out.”

   Al and Mary Kay are planning their seventh trip the weekend of September 14-17 and welcome anyone who would like join them.

   “We’re just beginning the rebuilding process,” said Al. “We need plumbers, electricians, carpenters and painters, but the greatest skills we need are willingness to help, willingness to be supportive and willingness to listen.”

   The Kates will be traveling in a van with a “Who is thy neighbor?” bumper sticker. Anyone interested in helping a neighbor for a weekend can e-mail Al at akates@hjrussell.com or call 770-923-7283.

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