This is an excerpt from a blog about work being done in Hancock County, MS. Being hit by Katrina and struggling for three years to get home again does not exempt you from other loss. Mean People Suck.

Tuesday July 29th, 2008
Electrical copper thieves strike Bert's house the night before he moves in!

Bert Martin went today to get the electric company to switch the power over to his main pole so he could move in - and on arrival found that copper thieves had stripped his new home of wire. Not only that they stripped the house across the street and also another home just down the street. Needless to say I am in shock over this as we worked so hard to get this home "finished".
There are no more funds for this home. This is a very frustrating situation.

http://www.reliefvolunteers.com/hancockdailyblog.html

Mold!!

I've recently been working for Hands On Gulf Coast as their Mold Outreach Coordinator. That means, I go to homes that have not been fixed since the storm and assess the mold situation. If it is a house that would benefit from the Hands On system of mold removal, we schedule the work.

This is a house in Moss Point where the roof had been damaged and the homeowner has not yet been able to fix her home. We gutted the home and are awaiting the finishing of the roof repairs before we treat it for mold. Today, I helped to dismantle a trailer that had mold but was unsavable due to its seriously deteriorated state. The work is messy and necessary. I'm enjoying the direct service to residents of the Gulf Coast.

If you know of someone who needs help with removing mold in a home, please email me: ekliger (symbol for at) handsongulfcoast.org and I will do what I can to help.

Highway 90

Today, I had the pleasure of driving from Bay St Louis to Biloxi via highway 90. I had been a bit hesitant to go that route assuming that due to construction, lane restrictions and traffic, it would take an hour. My friend, Kat, convinced me that the beauty of the bridge and the beach were worth it.

Imagine my surprise when for 19 uninterrupted minutes the ride flowed like a sweet, smooth river ride. Two lanes open, freshly paved, no orange barrels or cones...just like so many roads that I have taken for granted all of my life. Once we hit Gulfport, the construction started again but the stop-and-go-ness was worth it for those 19 minutes. The incremental improvements along the roadway are started to blend together into connectedness. The restoration is slow but it is definitely moving in the right direction.