Helping others during storms
Baton Rouge Advocate Editorial (12/29/05)
This year will always be remembered in Baton Rouge because of what Katrina and Rita have wrought. But with all that's gone on, we believe that the people of Baton Rouge have a right to be proud of their generosity and support for our friends and neighbors to the south.
A poll by the LSU sociology department put a number to it: 50 percent of East Baton Rouge Parish households surveyed reported offering sanctuary to friends, family, relief workers or complete strangers since the storms.
The poll also found that 60 percent of East Baton Rouge Parish residents who responded to the poll reported doing volunteer work after Katrina, which struck Aug. 29. Most said they volunteered more than once, and most did so with churches, temples or mosques, or faith-based service organizations.
Those are some of the findings of surveys by LSU professors Frederick Weil, Edward Shihadeh and Matthew Lee. About 1,300 people were called between Sept. 27 and Nov. 29.
We have always thought of Louisiana as a close-knit place, and that was a particular blessing for many people when the unprecedented evacuation of a major American city was ordered. There were places for people to go, not just official shelters and emergency provision by government, although those filled up rapidly.
LSU's Weil commented that it is sobering to consider what could have happened to evacuees if residents hadn't provided so much relief -- sofas, spare bedrooms, blankets on floors. The massive dislocations that overwhelmed government at all levels would have been infinitely worse if there had not been, in this city, a well of compassion and concern.
There will be much discussion in the future about how America can better prepare for a disaster requiring the evacuation of millions. But in this holiday season, it's appropriate to be grateful for what went right -- and how many went out of their way to help.
Click here to return to story:
http://2theadvocate.com/stories/122905/opi_views1001.shtml