The Council of Church of the City of New York

Katrina's Warriors

By Joe Maxwell
Today's Christian, September/October 2006

"It's so hard to start over at our age, you know?" says Shirley. "All we had left on our property was some concrete steps." Amazingly, however, their German Shepherd, Sunshine, came back to the house after weathering the hurricane who knows where. Shirley laughs through tears as she tells her dog's story to one of HANDS's cofounders, Scot Thigpen, who takes time from his financial management business to drive relief trucks to the coast. And to listen to those who just need an ear.

A tall, potentially imposing figure, Thigpen's attentiveness actually seems to soothe the Ellises' downtrodden spirits. "And then that dog came running up to us like, 'Oh, ya'll came back for me!'" Shirley laughs. " 'Ya'll came back for me!' " Thigpen chuckles, and Shirley dries her eyes. "Well," Thigpen says in a down-home drawl, "ya'll take care of Sunshine, and Sunshine will take care of ya'll."

Pickering watches from a distance, pleased. She often travels to Washington, D.C., with her Republican congressman husband, and has worked closely with rock star Bono on relief aid for Africa. Now, she says, hands-on Christian care is desperately needed here. "Bono said to me, 'Justice and mercy are mates.' Katrina started as a mercy issue, but now it is a justice issue. People are still living in FEMA trailers. I go back and forth to Washington, and nobody's talking about this. It is yesterday's news."

Indeed, a year later, both donations and volunteer support have dropped dramatically. Yet the needs are still great. With the devastated areas no longer in the headlines, Pickering and others are praying that people will continue to remember Katrina's survivors.

She adds: "They need emotional support, and they need spiritual support. And it's going to take a lot of time for people to heal."

For more information about the ministry of HANDS, call 1-877-HANDS, or visit the HANDS website: www.hands.ms. Joe Maxwell is a journalist-in-residence at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi.

How You Can Help

HANDS partners with churches, charities, and corporations to coordinate a network of volunteers that will assist hurricane survivors and their communities. Through the Family Connection Program, HANDS is uniting affected families with sponsor groups from churches across America that can support their physical and emotional needs for at least one year. During this year, the sponsor group is encouraged to provide support to assist the family with food, clothing, and other physical needs, and to help address the family's emotional needs through frequent phone conversations, cards, and letters. For information on how you and your church can adopt a family, call HANDS toll free at 1-877-426-3703.