Blog Index

Items in RED are NEW
Items in GREEN are UPDATED

Waveland Relief Sister Sites
Katrina Networking Site
Hancock County Agency Information
Pearlington
BayStLouis
Gulf Coast Artist Relief Blog
Gulf Coast Emergency Services Relief Blog
Real People Relief

Volunteer Information
For Agencies and Organizations
For Non-Profits and Municipalities
Assistance For Schools
Grants for Non-Profits
Grants For Communities
Citizen Action Team
Community Gardens Effort
City Action Partnership
Gulf Coast Civic Works Project - please support
MS United Methodist Disaster Response
UMCOR Response
Safety Guidelines For Volunteers

For Individuals
Resource Pages
Grandfamily/Single Parent Resources
Family Resources
Medical Resources
LA Family Resources
Education Assistance
Businesses
Mortgage Resources
Furniture and More
Home/Utility
Elderly
Resources for Children/Childcare
Disabled
Grants for Individuals - does not include homeowner or repair grants
Dental

Waveland City
Waveland Families on Real People Relief
Waveland Animal Shelter
Waveland Police Department

Children
Bay Waveland Schools
Website To Help Schools


Places to Volunteer
Volunteer Index Of Many Organizations Working in Hancock County
The Giving Circle - Please Read Update 9/23/08
Wayland to Waveland
Karing
Bucksmont Katrina Project
Eight Days of Hope
Katrina's Angels
His Hands and Feet
Relief Kitchen/Community Center
Impact Ministries
Community Collaborations
Ken Tenn
HANDS
Waveland Baptist Disaster Response

Helping Without Going Down

Books on Hurricane Recovery

As I have time, I'll be posting more links to books regarding the rebuilding of Pearlington, Waveland, Bay St Louis, Kiln and the rest Hancock County. If you know of any, please let me know.

I've long held I wouldn't advertise anything that was a for-profit endeavor, but I think at this point, they need to be shown in an effort to prove rebuilding has yet to be complete.

The first is Pat Holt's Rebuilding Pearlington. She's a lady from basically all over the nation, having served in the military and after retiring, took up photography. I wish her memoir included many more of her photographs, but perhaps she is working on a separate book for those.

I do have a few others, which will be posted in the appropriate blog, and then all will be collected on the KatrinaNetworking blog

The Giving Circle - In NY

http://www.thegivingcircle.org/


9/23/08 - I'll not delete their information from my blog, but I am also no longer advocating working with them. They have gone back on their word to assist families at least twice - with this last retraction occuring with 3 separate families. These two incidents have occured in the last year alone, so am unsure how many others there may be.

Saratoga Mardi Gras

I'm pretty sure they're 518.
David Keehn, 587-8014
Ray Simboli 399 9401
Frenchy Loeb 461-4893
Ron Deutsch 469-6769

Please Read Update from 9/23/08

Project Mommy 101

10/9 Update

Hi Leslie,
The Mommy 101 Shower was in May and it was a great success. We had 85 moms or moms-to-be come and receive a large number of beautiful gifts.
We plan to do it again in the spring. I'll keep you informed.
Thanks for caring and all your support.
We have some moms that we are still helping.
I just got an email from a young lady that has a 9 month old and is expecting in Dec.
If you have contacts that might want to adopt this family and help them, please let me know.

Betty

3/28 Update
Just an update to our project that will be held April 14th "Mommy 101". Tasia is a wonderful person and is working very hard to make this project a success. The bad thing is, we're not getting a great response. Attached is Tasia's update. If you know someone that would like to help or help with the list of needed things, please let me know. We only have 3 weeks left and I think so far we have around 40 to 50 names. You all know the week of the event you get loaded with new names. We learned that one from last Christmas.

As always, "Thank you" for being by our sides.

Thanks again,

“MOMMY 101”
A Community Project Hancock County, MS

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Tasia Poyadou of Waveland, MS. I am the current Miss Mississippi Teen. I attend the University of Southern Mississippi on a Presidential Scholarship while majoring in Biological Sciences.

My hometown of Waveland, Mississippi was one of the hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina. Many may think that enough time has passed that life is back to normal, but that is far from being accurate. Many families are still in FEMA trailers; many are still awaiting the possibility of one day receiving insurance payments, while those that had no insurance continue to wait for grant monies. And, of course, there are those who do not know where they will go next.

I am currently involved in a community project called “MOMMY 101” which is a countywide baby shower and educational tool for new or expectant mothers. It will also provide support and give them the opportunity to gather amongst themselves. These ladies are facing motherhood while at the same time living through one of the toughest times of their lives. “MOMMY 101” will provide baby clothes, diapers, wipes, high chairs, etc. (as well as provide) the opportunity to learn from local OB/Gyns and other support agencies, such as “Family First Resource Center”, and Mississippi State University Extension Service, ways in which to handle the stress of their day-to-day life during this time of recovery. Unfortunately some of the effects of Hurricane Katrina our community are higher rates of domestic disturbances, child neglect, depression and suicide. Hopefully we can relieve some of the stress with this project.

It is my wish and prayer that we can count on you for a donation of baby items or a monetary donation that we could use to make “MOMMY 101” a great success. “MOMMY 101” is scheduled for April 14th, 2007. We would hope to have all donated items and monetary donations in hand by March 30th to allow for time to prepare.

You may contact Betty Robinson, Public Relations for the City of Waveland, at
(228) 467-3425, or by her email address at brcitymail@yahoo.com for any additional information you may need such as tax deduction donation information.

Thank you for your time and I hope you will participate in this wonderful day for the new mothers of our community. The lessons and gifts they will receive will surely last for a lifetime.

Sincerely,
Tasia Poyadou
Miss Mississippi Teen
C/O City of Waveland
335 Coleman Ave. #8
Waveland, MS 39576

BBC Article

Storm victims feel anger, neglect
By Michaela Graichen BBC News, Waveland, Mississippi

One year after Hurricane Katrina, many people in the small Mississippi town of Waveland feel cheated. Others feel neglected.

Brian Mollere fled his home as it collapsed
Cheated because insurance companies have only paid out for wind damage, not water damage.

Neglected because New Orleans, about 60 miles (100km) away, continues to dominate media attention.

Some hurricane survivors in Waveland say the famous city known as the Big Easy has also been given more recovery money from the federal government.

The people of Waveland lived through a catastrophic event.

Locals say winds of 140 mph (225 km/h) battered the seaside town, sending a 35-foot (10.5-metre) surge of water up the main street.

Businesses and homes were wiped out. A huge pile of debris collected next to the oak tree near the town's railway tracks.

Death in the family

Brian Mollere, 50, was being tossed around in the flood waters with his overweight Chihuahua Rocky tucked under his arm.

The water swept Brian into tree tops and ripped off his shorts and shoes.

"All the buildings behind me were just collapsing, collapsing, collapsing", he said.

Brian has lived in Waveland his whole life - in fact, he has lived in the same street his whole life.

That is, if you can call his present state "living".

Like most of Waveland's residents, he sleeps in a small trailer, or caravan, provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Fema.

Brian is not bitter. He is not even angry that he had no insurance and lost three houses in the storm.

He is grieving the loss of his 80-year-old mother in the hurricane.


Wind or water?

Brian's sister-in-law Barbara Mollere lives down the road and she is finding life in her government-provided trailer increasingly tough.


Many Waveland residents now live in Fema trailers
Barbara shares the trailer with her husband Philip and their 25-year-old handicapped daughter, Mimi.

When I met them, Mimi was sitting in a chair watching television.

There was barely room to pass as I took my seat.

Barbara is one of many Waveland residents who feels angry at America's insurance companies.

She says she insured her property for $89,000 (£47,000) and was paid only $10,000 (£5,270).

That was for the wind damage. The company did not pay for water damage.

Julie Rochman of the American Insurance Association says that is normal.

Private insurance companies never cover for flood, she says.

Ms Rochman says she feels sorry for people who have lost everything, but argues that they should read their insurance policies properly.

'Olden days'

None of that helps Barbara, who probably faces the next year in her Fema trailer.

She spends most of the day inside with the air conditioner humming overhead.

It is usually too hot to cook indoors and she does the family's washing outside.

She says it feels like "the olden days".

Barbara does not know when she will be able to leave.

Her house is basically a shell and the family does not have enough money to rebuild yet.

Nor do they have enough money to move away.

Getting 'out of the house'

At the end of Barbara's street, the Mississippi Sound shines silver in the summer sun.

Dressed only in shorts held up by braces, 75-year-old John McCain is fishing with four rods.

He has been fishing for more than 50 years and likes eating the deep sea red fish he catches there.

Mr McCain loves the water and escapes his trailer as often as he can to "get out of the house".

It is a poignant expression because John McCain doesn't have a house.

Few people in Waveland do.

Those who have stayed behind after Hurricane Katrina have done so for two main reasons - because they love their home town and want to help rebuild it or because they simply cannot afford to move away.

Audit Wanted

Waveland Mayor Back Peddling
Waveland ControversyWaveland Mayor Tries to Distance Himself from Story on Donation Investigation Says Sun Herald Story on Donation Incorrect, Denies Sending Employees
by Keith Burton and Mark Proulx - GulfCoastNews.com Filed 1/19/07
A story published January 17 in the Sun Herald newspaper has all ofWaveland talking. The city's mayor is backtracking on his comments of aninvestigation over the handling of donations the city has received, aswell as Waveland city employees being used in an improper effort toobtain records.
This article can be found in full at this Link:http://www.gulfcoastnews.com/WavelandControversy.htm
At the end of the article is a taped interview with the Mayor.

Waveland aldermen to ask for audit
Aid donations, federal money at issue
By RYAN LaFONTAINE
rlafontaine@sunherald.com
WAVELAND - Alderman Charles Piazza wants the state to pick through Waveland's finances with a pair of tweezers and a magnifying glass, but not everyone agrees that's such a good idea, at least not yet.
Piazza, who returned to the Ward 4 seat in November after four years away from politics, asked the board Tuesday to support his push for an audit, which was not on the official agenda.
First-term Alderwoman Lili Stahler suggested the board wait until the second session later this month and a workshop planned this weekend before officially drafting such a request.
Stahler recommended delaying a decision until city leaders can hear from bookkeepers and donation watchers at Saturday's workshop.
"If that's what (Stahler) wants then that's fine with me," Piazza said. "With her being new and me being back, I can understand her wanting to learn as much as possible, but I still think the board should have passed the motion for an audit (Tuesday) night."
Piazza said he has no reason to suspect financial practices by anyone at City Hall and he wants a review only because "several residents" have questioned him about the money.
He said having the State Auditor's Office examine the city's bankroll and use of Katrina-relief donations is a prudent way to find out.
"I want the state to come in and look at our books," Piazza said. "There's a lot of federal money that's come through Waveland and people are asking questions; they're not seeing results and they want to know where all the money is going."
Mayor Tommy Longo said he welcomed any inspection and that Piazza didn't need to launch intimidating hints to get it done.
"I welcome that," Longo said. "And, you don't need to threaten anyone to do it."
"If I was threatening someone, he would have known it," Piazza said.