John Stocks: Reclaiming quality of life

Regular readers have been following the efforts of John Stocks, a Wisconsinite with roots in the Gulf Coast, to help his family, extended family and friends cope with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. This is his latest report:

A place to call home...

A way to make a living...

A supportive community of family and friends....

Time to pursue happiness and a little peace of mind...

For so many of us we take these qualities of life for granted. For so many of the victims of Katrina and Rita, these qualities of life are indefinitely postponed, if not gone forever.

The past two weeks have been consumed by the Ewell families' search for housing in greater Dallas, Memphis, Baton Rouge, Jackson and Atlanta.

STACEY
Stacey left Jackson for Dallas to start work with her former employer, Pan American Life. She has found temporary housing outside Dallas @ 30 minutes from her job site. She is hoping to find something closer to work with good schools for her daughters to attend. She hopes to send for her daughters soon.

EBONI, BREA AND KASEY
Eboni, Brea and Kasey are living with their father in temporary housing outside of Memphis.

The girls are having a very hard time being displaced from their home and now separated from their mother.

Eboni's birthday is this week and our relief efforts are flying Stacey from Dallas to Memphis to celebrate next weekend.

ELOUISE AND LOIS
Bound and determined to get back to Louisiana, Elouise and Lois have migrated back to the Ewell's familly roots. The small towns of Klotzville, Ewellville, Napoleonville and Belle Rose stretch along the Mississippi River, between New Orleans and Baton Rouge. They are home to many aunts, uncles and cousins. Elouise and Lois have been welcomed into a cousin's home until they can find housing in the area. Our relief efforts will assist them in getting into a place of their own.

Lois will apply this week for teaching jobs in the Assumption and Ascension parish school districts. Despite the large influx of students from parishes devastated by Katrina and Rita, teaching jobs are hard to come by.

COURTNEY AND VACHAUN
Courtney decided to stay at the Comfort Inn and make a go of it in Jackson. She could not imagine herself living in 'the country'. She is looking for housing and has been offered a part-time job in the UPS warehouse. It pays a little more than $8 an hour.

HENRIETTA AND DEBBIE ANN
Henrietta, Debbie Ann, Gerrard, Steve, Paula, Mark, Doris, Broderick and Samantha have moved into a house in the Atlanta area. The address is: 102 Douglas Road Mableton, Georgia 30126. Our relief efforts have assisted them with initial furnishings.

JOHN AND TIINA
My father and his wife have decided to drive back to New Orleans on Wednesday. They are going to move back into their home and start anew.

ADAM AND BECKY
Adam continues to put in long hours trying to stabilize the internet and phone services of Charter Communications in Louisiana. Becky and her brother are reconstructing the inside of their home. Our relief effort bought a generator and rented and transported the drying equipment that helped to save their home from mold and mildew.

IT’S NOT JUST WHAT YOU’RE BORN WITH……
I am reminded of another Si Kahn song that speaks to all of you who have contributed time, money, the use of vehicles, equipment and trailers, legal services, gift cards and care packages to this effort….

It’s not just what you’re born with
It’s what you choose to bear
It’s not how large your share is
But how much you can share

It’s not the fights you’ve dreamed of
But those you’ve really fought
And it’s not just what you’re given
But what you do with what you’ve got

May the Great Spirit shine down on all of you!

John Stocks

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How you can help.