from C, Monday, 9/5/05

We are going to see my mom this week. I think she has a house full of people who were left homeless by katrina. I have been volunteering through my school down at one of the shelters. I’ve been working in one of the medical clinics so I’ve seen firsthand what has happened to these people, both physically and mentally. I’ve had an unbelievable experience and gotten to work with some great doctors. Although I’ve done a lot of good there it’s hard to handle. People’s lives ripped apart by the loss of loved ones and what little they had, their entire universe thrown into chaos by such horrors that no one should ever experience, and having nowhere to go. Many were evacuated before the storm and many were barely rescued in time, only to have to live through the dome and convention center fiascos. Fighting for their lives even after the storm. The personal items kits they hand out usually have a disposable razor. They have to be taken out so that they can’t be used as a weapon againt self or others because no one is sure of what has happened to these people when they get to us. My brain hurts and I feel broken inside. I’ve never seen so many people hurting so badly. R knows many of the people who have killed themselves in government and law enforcement. And I heard from one of the animal people that they may have been ordered in New Orleans to shoot any stray animals they find in the city. I can’t express how my life has changed. Just know I’ve stopped several times during this to cry.

love,

c