HandsOnUSA

Thank You: Volunteers, Donors, and Biloxi !

2006-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Our HandsOnUSA project came to a successful conclusion on January 31st, 2006 - heartfelt thanks to our 1,500 wonderful volunteers, and the generous donors who made our efforts possible. We took out major ads in the SunHerald on the 31st, and again on the 1st of February, to thank the citizens of Biloxi for their warmth and acceptance, and also to clearly delineate the end of our project, and the transition to HandsOnNetwork responsibility for the operations in subsequent months. Seven of our team leaders are staying on in stipended HON positions, as well as two in Associate Director roles, so we are optimistic that the " figure it out and do it..." style developed over the past months will contribute to continuing effectiveness.

While years of effort will be required as the area progresses toward the recovery phase from this massive disaster we have moved forward with our announced plans, and will be operating over this interim period as Hands On Disaster Response ; providing support to HandsOnNetwork (HON) through the next few months, getting some R&R from the non-stop efforts since early September, communicating with our volunteers and donors re our accomplishments, and future plans, organizing "lessons learned", and establishing dialogue with organizations with whom we might collaborate in future deployments.

We'll participate in the HON annual conference in early March, and are laying plans for a fact-finding mission during April to areas ravaged by recent disasters, from Indonesia and Thailand, where the tsunami recovery operations are in full force, to Pakistan and Africa, where we will investigate how our style of volunteer-based support might be able to be effective. We are also anxious to participate in any forum that allows us to share our on-site perspective of the overall response to Katrina, and share in conversations to improve future capabilities; let us know if you hear of any opportunities.

Also, the 2006 Hurricane season officially begins June 1, extending for 6 months, with current forecasts giving a better than 80% probability of a major event during this season ( see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_Atlantic_hurricane_season ).

So, we lived our motto: "Be the Change You Want to See in the World".... Together we created a community that was open, productive, loving, caring, considerate, learning, flexible, amazingly self-organizing , and self-motivating, delivering life changing impact to both our served communities, and to ourselves. And had fun doing it.

Please keep up with our Director's reports, through the web, and make sure we have your current e-mail by letting info@handsonusa.org know.

Thanks to all who were with us on this wonderful journey, and y'all keep in touch...

Love, David

Five months after Katrina hit, an update...

2006-01-30T01:35:00.000-08:00

Two weeks since my last post, sorry for the gap. To quickly summarize that period, we had a great turnout for the Martin Luther King day parade, with our 80+ volunteers sporting creative signs representing the many different states and countries we hail from ( UK, Australia, Germany, plus 40 states, very colorful). Since the parade route wound through the streets of East Biloxi, where we have been a constant presence since the week after the storm, the appreciation of the community was spontaneous, appreciative, grateful......great.

Our monthly operations report, this time authored by Marc Young ( Scuba, to most HOUSA'ers) captures our efforts in both words and pictures, and is available on the website at http://www.handsonusa.org/index.cfm?section=120day_report

Further recognition, and a fun day, occurred this week when we participated in a playground build, organized by Kaboom! This Not-for-profit helps bring communities together by designing a new playground with the kids and parents, then having components manufactured so that they can all be assembled, by volunteers and the community, in one busy day. We provided much of the labor, with about 50 volunteers pitching in, and joined many groups in celebrating the day with a visit by First Lady Laura Bush. Among other commendations she named our Bill Driscoll, Jr as a Presidential Citation for Community Service award winner, well deserved for his months of effort. The playground is located in Kiln,MS, home of Green Bay legend Brett Favre, who also joined the ceremony.

Last week came to a close with a Thank-you to HandsOnUSA event, where we received emotional tributes from officials of Biloxi Dave Staehling and Bill Stallworth, and were honored with presentation of the only surviving key to the City of Biloxi. Our volunteers ( and me) were misty eyed as Bill spoke eloquently, metaphorically describing how our gutting of destroyed homes " ripped out the despair", and our efforts gave people a sense of hope..... He's been a great leader, and a great friend.

Re Coastal, the Community Health Center we have worked with so closely, things took a major step forward with the official signing of an agreement with Project Hope to fund $400K to develop an interim facility in Moss Point, MS - this is a major positive step and one that we hope will advance other support activities we have underway. We also received 2 truckloads of furniture donated from Brigham and Woman's Hospital in Boston, and both these partners are also working with Coastal to help with a severe shortage of nurses.

Had an interesting day yesterday, spending Sunday inside a broken casino barge, a 3 story behemoth tipped at a 15 degree list, and totally destroyed by Katrina. We had the opportunity to salvage useful components, and labored for hours in dark and slippery conditions, hauling kitchen equipment etc that we will deliver to the Loaves & Fishes soup kitchen in E Biloxi. We also recovered some vauable countertops, wood finishes, etc which will find their way into some Biloxi rebuilding projects. Seven hours of climbing up and down stairways at a severe angle is like a day of skiing the moguls, and certainly reminded me of why it's goood to have so many young folks around !

To that note, we also celebrated our long-term volunteers this week, giving out special black tee-shirts earned by more than 30 days cumulative service: 83 recipients, who have meant so much to allowing us to run with high productivity but low protocol. (neat photo at the website)

We are on schedule to have our transition dinner this Tuesday, and anticipate that the momentum we've established, and the strong carry over of team leaders and volunteers, will provide a powerful platform for HandsOnNetwork to build upon.

Thanks for your interest, and support.

200 volunteers in house, and still a happy family....!

2006-01-14T05:14:00.000-08:00

We passed the "200 volunteers at one time" level in the past week, and while crowded, spirits and productivity remained high. The benefits of being able to turn out a crew of 50+ for a park cleanup outweigh the daunting challenge of preparing breakfast to be fed to that crowd, all in the 7 - 7:45 time slot so that teams can hit the road at 8 AM.

Major components of the current population are made up of students from several schools, who have done great work and added a positive dynamic to the buzz. Thanks to Huntington College, Dartmouth, Alfred State, St Bonavanture, Williams, ( and a few others) for your spirit and productivity.

We're entering the weekend celebrating Martin Luther King Day, and one of our many contributions of the past week was to turn out 100's of volunteers ( including a large group from Keesler AF base) to be sure the parade route will be in good shape; we've contributed so much to improving the overall civic appearanc of Biloxi that there is developing a contagious feeling that this community will "beat Katrina".

The other major development over the past 2 weeks has been further agreement and clarification of our plans to transition at the end of the month. We are moving forward with a partnership that will help launch HandsOnGulfCoast, to pick up where we leave off, absorbing our current volunteers, team leaders, facilities, equipment, and projects. This effort, a program of Atlanta-based HandsOnNetwork, anticipates a 2 year commitment, with as many as 1,000 volunteers across the Mississippi/Louisiana coast, providing a dynamic new resource to contribute to the recovery/redevelopment activities here.

We ( basically being myself, Darius, and Scuba Marc ) will provide advice and support to their efforts, while grabbing some R&R time, and starting to document lessons learned over the past 4+ months.

Our objective is to start now to prepare for our next deployment, with our mission to become the best organization in the world at utilizing volunteer resources to aid victims of natural disasters. Over the coming months we will explore relationships with other organizations that might aid us in our mission, and gather the technical capabilities that will enhance our rapid effctiveness; we'll also be happy to speak about our experiences here in any forum that will help advance the cause of volunteer participation, or an understanding of the events in the midst of a major disaster such as Katrina, or the tsunami.

So, in about 2 weeks, we anticipate turning over the keys to a highly effective , fluid, self-organizing volunteer force of 100+, with experienced team leadership and tested systems for work order management. We believe our primary mission is to be the early responders, dealing with the dynamic challenges in the first 120 days following a disaster, and that we can best serve that mission by concluding here, and starting preparations for the future.

Thank you to our 1,500 volunteers, to all our great team leaders, and to Darius and Mark. We've delivered not only dramatic physical results to the people of the Mississippi GulfCoast, but a clear message of caring and compassion, from all across the country. We're all better for it.

stay tuned.....

Merry Christmas, goodbye Gramma Wind, and tsunami anniversary.....

2005-12-27T23:32:00.000-08:00

Happy Holidays to all. A busy week; while in Atlanta on Tuesday preparing for a major meeting with the leadership of HandsOnNetwork I received a call from my wife, Gay ( the photographer who did the great "Who are we" photo series down in Biloxi ) that her Mom had been rushed to the hospital, 2 hours later Gramma Wind passed away. So unexpectedly we gathered as a family, not for our traditional Christmas celebration, but to say a sad goodbye to a quiet, supportive, strong and loving woman who left 6 children, 16 grand-children, and 14 great-grandchildren - quite a positive impact on the world. Hers was a good life, filled with warm memories, but every death reminds us to question our own plan, or purpose, for our individual lives.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the terrible tsunami that ripped through the Indian Ocean, taking over 225,000 lives in minutes, and leaving physical and emotional scars that will survive for many years. But it was out of that devastation that HandsOnThailand was born, so in all change there is an opportunity, maybe even a mandate, for new changes to appear. The world reacted in such a spontaneous outpouring of shared grief, offers of aid, and extraordinary outreach by governments and individuals to this disaster that it seemed to bring us all closer together, if only for an occasion. Katrina galvanized a similar response in the US, and all of us who have witnessed the brutal destruction wrought by this extraordinary disaster recognize the years of cooperative effort that will be required to help put people's lives back together.

And we are helping. Amy's program delivered toys to every child we had identified on our list, and we used targetted donations from Adam to provide over $10,000 of certificates for food, and propane tank refills for the expanding FEMA trailer population. Loaves & Fishes, the Biloxi soup kitchen, can get back in business, and the Salvation Army distributed food and toys, all made possible by HandsOn volunteers in the hundreds. And we even delivered dozens of Fairytale brownies to brighten people's days; http://www.brownies.com/gfx/media_room/press_releases/katrina.pdf

Sixty or so volunteers spent Christmas Day in Biloxi, with Darius and Marc ( and, I'm told, a midnight visit from Santa), and we're expecting the census to shoot over 150 again in early January. If you're coming down to join us please be aware they we will be bursting at the seams, so great interpersonal skills will be appreciated !We will continue discussions with HandsOnNetwork, and expect that an opertions center will be established in our current location, still targetted for a Feb 1, 2006 launch. We're encouraging groups of volunteers to plan on arriving over the next several months, as we are confident we'll develop a solid ongoing relationship with HON.

The anniversary of the tsunami is a reminder, for all of us, how HandsOn came together, and how we can all contribute to the issue that brought us together, helping people who had been overwhelmed by forces beyond their control. Mike Cegielski and Pete Kirkwood, who were in Thailand and helped get efforts started, and the 300 volunteers from all over the world who came to help created a model that we are building on today. Over 1,000 people will be members of the volunteer force of HandsOnUSA through the end of January, and I think we've done great work, and learned many lessons. Our objectives over the course of the next month is to establish a stable volunteer based presence in the GulfCoast region that will be of sustaining benefit to those communities beyond the next year, and to gather our experiences so that we can be better prepared to respond to future needs.

Some of our volunteers are concerned that we will become too beuracratic if we join with HandsOnNetwork, and I think this is a valid issue. But I believe we've demonstrated, in the evolution from Thailand to Biloxi, that we can grow larger and still be effective. Our challenge is to keep the benefits of small: quick, agile, human, caring - and add the benefits of scale; broader volunteer base, immediate corporate relationships for support, stronger PR and political stature. The goal is to improve our ability to help people who have been overwhelmed by a crisis, and every decision we make will be with the intent of furthering that objective.

We are in the midst of a creation, not at its end. I don't know the outcome, but I know the powerful positive feelings that are unleashed when we simply make it easy for caring people to help people with a need. There is plenty of room in this world for this to happen, and everytime it's done, it helps..... as we've all experienced, often it helps the giver more than the receiver.

Thanks to all of the volunteers and donors who brought HandsOnUSA to life, and to all of you who support them and enable their efforts.

Please share your thoughts and comments....

david

Big News !

2005-12-17T07:38:00.000-08:00

HandsOn has some major changes in the offing, which I believe can help advance our mission.

When we adopted the name HandsOnThailand while working on the tsunami relief project we didn't worry too much about brand name checking, but picked an identification that was a clear statement of how we were working; we liked it, and picked it up as HandsOnWorldwide when we started making plans to carry on after Thailand, and started thinking about projects that might take us to needs anywhere ojn the globe. Then Katrina hit, and we focused on helping down here, and thought HandsOnUSA felt right ( HandsOnKatrina might have offended some political sensitivities, and we certainly want to be sensitive !). So we grabbed the website, and went to work.

Lo and behold we find that there is a highly respected, solid performing volunteer coordination group, HandsOnNetwork.org, that has been providing volunteer coordination services since 1992, has a strong network of 50 or so regional affilliates , mostly in the US, and a major volunteer base, great corporate support group, etc. And even better, they had decided to launch a sustained effort providing volunteer services on the GulfCoast, starting Feb 1 ( our planned end-date had been "end of January" ). We've had a number of meetings with the folks from HandsOnNetwork, and plan on joining them as a disaster response affilliate, and help launch their effort here in Mississippi, including providing assistance from our Operations Directors, Darius and Mark, and working to move some of our volunteer leaders into ongoing positions with them ( if they so choose). We will be working together from our Operations Center in Biloxi over the month of January, and expect that we can make the transition smooth and effective.

This will be great news for the people of Biloxi, who love the HandsOn crew who have helped so much, and want us to stick around. And for our volunteers, past and future, who want to retain a link to the area. We expect that HandsOnGulfcoast will create an expanded presence, both in scale and geographically, and we're anxious to help get them launched.

We still have discussions to complete with the leadership of HandsOnNetwork (HON, to save me keying time), but since we share so many common beliefs I'm highly optimistic we will find a path to make this a very positive development.

Those of you who've been with us know that one of our core beliefs is to focus on what we can do, not what others aren't doing. We adopted the inspiring phrase from Mahatma Ghandi of " Be the Change you wish to see in the world...", and I believe that is how we've been living each day. And as an indication of shared values, the banner on the top of the HON homepage is "Be the Change.Volunteer -

http://www.handsonnetwork.org/

Will we able to stay quick, responsive, self-directed, fun, and productive? I believe that's up to us, but absolutely available, and even to an enhanced capability. I intend to devote my efforts to give the best outcome we can to the people of the Gulfcoast, through an active and effective extended collaboration with the new and expanded volunteer effort here, and start the planning process for how we can get HandsOnWorldwide to become an effective vehicle for quick-start, volunteer based, highly productive disaster response. I expect that we'll tap the HON for closer connection to their growing set of corporate sponsors, but count on our direct donors to continue to support us, enabling us to control our tone and tempo.

Whew, lots of stuff to communicate, and lots more to come. We will share this information with our volunteer and donor family, because I believe strongly in open communication, and this is becoming a reality.

I think this is great. Keep an open mind, let's all learn more, and "watch this space" for breaking news.

Oh yeah, by the way, we're doing incredible things here in Biloxi. Like putting on an all-volunteer performance of the play "A Christmas Carol" as a free gift to the community, to be delivered once at the Biloxi Little Theater, and again at a local High School. Also leading a shared community/volunteer "Re-Jubilation Day", today, with hundreds of folks combining to clean up some city parks ( and letting the residents keep the tools at the end of the day). We had 180 volunteers on-site at one time this week ( with great and highly productive groups from Dartmouth and University of Chicago ), and continue major efforts: mold abatement, debris removal, interiors, gutting, working with the Salvation Army for food and clothes distribution, getting the soup kitchen Loaves & Fishes back in operation, and dozens of other projects. Our efforts on behalf of Coastal Family Health Centers continues to grow, and will show positive results with delivery of initial interim facilities next month. 30 of our guys did an overnight yesterday to Waveland, where there are years of work to be done......

We are learning, inventing, reacting, planning - but most of all giving and helping, with a hug and a smile. We've developed a bond with Biloxi that will last all our lives.

We can do more.
We will.

Happy Holidays, David

three months after Katrina....

2005-12-10T06:50:00.000-08:00

How should we assess our response to this unprecedented natural disaster ? I'm thrilled to have experienced the spirit of our 700+ volunteers, who have arrived in Biloxi with compassion, enthusiasm, and a can-do-anything spirit; and left (many to return , all staying connected) with new friends, a deeper appreciation of what they have, and what others have lost, and a personal understanding of Southern hospitality and resilience.

Our donors have been great, from personal friends who came in quickly with the substantial funds that allowed us to hit the ground running, to companies that allowed employee volunteers to work, then followed through with major checks, and to all the individuals, volunteers and others, who've helped us raise and spend about $300K so far, all for materials, supplies, tools, food, and local transportation. Not $1 of your donations has gone to any compensation or volunteer per diem, and I think we must be the most cost-effective disaster response group ever invented !

But the needs, 3+ months and counting, remain great, and the frustrations mount. Medical clinics and feeding operations are being pulled back, and the "rolling canteens" from the Salvation Army and Red Cross are alll scheduled to stop this month. There are still families living in tents, though the supply of FEMA trailers has now passed the halfway delivered mark. Redevelopment of the city of Biloxi is only at the stage of massive debris clearing, with uncertainty surrounding what areas will be converted for expanded casino operations, and what neighborhoods will be preserved or rebuilt. As a pragmatic matter the only source of funds to help here will be from the Federal government or donors; the people of Biloxi have generally lost everything, and will receive little insurance reimbursement, the city and state are vitually bankrupt, with huge increases in costs, and decreases in revenue. Federal response is halting, and confounded with broader issues. The people wait, and suffer.

Coastal Family Health Center has been the recipient of hundreds of hours of our volunteer services, with Nate, Kris, Chip, Joe and others laboring over the past months to help plan interim facilities, arrange donations of trailers, transportation, IT systems, medical equipment and supplies, and cash to keep going. ProjectHope has come through, and provided an indication of support to restore one clinic, and some essential on-site project support to finalize plans and release funds - Thank You ! Most other potential funding sources request " strategic plans, etc", or say "we'll be down next month....", when we have the base provider of healthcare to the poor on the edge of bankruptcy, and working out of gutted facilities.

The calls for assessment (of the Red Cross, FEMA, etc ) have started, and I believe are appropriate. Our nation has shown its warmth and compassion by the outpouring of volunteer arrivals, and donor contributions. But we have not been as quick and responsive and empathetic in delivering services on the street as we could be, and need to be. We will try to speak out more loudly on behalf of those we're assisting.

Our needs for volunteers remain high, and we welcome you to connect with us and join to bring some help and caring directly to the people in Biloxi, and around the Gulfcoast. We have over 100 people working today, doing house gutting, mold removal, delivering blankets and jackets, working on parks and churches, getting a soup kitchen reopened, helping the Salvation Army with food distribution, aiding a wonderful individual, David Romero ( www.midwesthelp.org ) who's running a 1 man distribution center right in the heart of EastBiloxi, etc etc. We need everyone, from college students to nurses/docs, mental health professionals to grant-writers, doers and planners.

Our volunteers are enthusiastic, empowered, self-motivated, and self-directed. You won't find a better bunch of people to be with anywhere in the world. They've chosen to " Just do it!".

Be the change you want to see in the world. If you can't join us right now, go to www.HandsOnUSA.org , and donate, so that others can stay longer, and help.

Thanks,
David ( click on "comments", and share your thoughts, and suggestions.....

Thanksgiving !

2005-11-25T13:40:00.000-08:00

Had a perfect Thanksgiving Day, shared with 130 HandsOn volunteers at our operations center in Biloxi, with a spectacular meal served by friends from PA who came down just to feed us, with deserts provided by our host Church families, a warm and special evening. A neat touch provided by long-time volunteer ( and video expert) Bill Driscoll Jr, who handed me the end of a long ball of string, passed it all around the dining room until we were all holding on, and ended with Darius - then spoke about our linkage together.... very cool, very emotional, very real.

We had a wonderful visit by a major group from Alfred State College, in Southwest NY state, led by President Uma Gupta, and including staff, faculty, and students. Great workers, cooks, and supporters. Uma has even taken on the responsibility of writing "the book" on HandsOn, so watch this space for future developments !

The team has settled into a highly productive mode, gracefully accepting the constsnt transfers in and out, with tearful separations, happy returnees, and great food, and ever more organized ( but never quite perfect) allocations of folks to teams for tress, tarps, debris, interiors, mold removal, streets (giving out jackets, blankets, etc,, Humane society, admin, facilities,Salvation Army warehouse, etc etc. Volunteers cycle from task to task, based on what they want to do, and what we need - amazingly, they always seem in balance. The cooler nights have arrived, but the days are beautiful, and morale is great. With so many people in Biloxi, all sporting their "HandsOn" signs affixed to the dozens of vehicles we field every day, we are a ubiquitous, and welcomed, presence.

We got some great PR coverage with a color photo in the Oct 18th weekend edition of USA Today showing 2 of our volunteers ( fortunately, proudly wearing their HandsOn t-shirts), and several pending news stories are on the way. Never enough coverage, either od us, or the disaster around us, but some is better than none.

On the Coastal Community Health Center front they have been forced to borrow against next year's fed allocations to stay open, and we continue to labor on their behalf. We have gotten an oral commitment on up to $400K from a donor to bring one of the lost clinic backs alive, and we'll publicize all the info as soon as it gets formalized. Hoping to close with an additional donor for the major needs right here in Biloxi, but will keep plugging away with the political forces to try to force some movement in a VERY slow and unresponsive system. And this for the low coast provider of health care to the uncovered, in the poorest and hardest hit community in our largest national disaster.

The AF just presented us with a flag that has been flown over Iraq, in thanks for the work we're doing here; we've been thrilled by their participation with us, and our appreciative of their thoughts, and support.

I went to Mass on Thanksgiving morning, and honestly believe the people feel more thankful for the 10% they have left, than most of us ever are for everything we have. The people are appreciative, warm, caring and sharing, and treasure the thought that individuals from all across the country have come to care about them.

The people here are amazing, they can do anything ! The days are filled with productivity, but also laughter, tears, hugs..... Lots of conversations about "What's next for HandsOn", because we all realise that this experience has changed us all, in positive ways, and we want to continue to grow and help in unknown ways. We will , and we'll figure out how among us.

on the road....

2005-11-10T11:21:00.000-08:00

I've left Biloxi, but can't leave the project. Had arranged a visit in New York city through Frank, one of our volunteers who was generous with his time, his money, and his list of friends ! So I got to tell our story, and was rewarded with a $10K check, thoughtful advice, encouragement, and some other names ( which have already resulted in a $10K matching donation). We'll be doing an event next Tuesday evening back in Manhattan, where Perry Capital Management will host a wine & cheese reception, and the 10 volunteers they sent down to work with HandsOn will be part of the program. An important ingredient of our mission is to be a channel for timely, accurate communication, and nothing is better than a trusted voice telling from personal experience.

On Wednesday morning I spoke to about 100 folks at MRO Software, where their $25K major gift was made based on a corporate multiplier match on personal employee giving, so we were both informing, and thanking them. Since I'm on the Board there I went a bit further into the personal journey that led me from Buffalo, to Boston, to BangTao, to Biloxi.....

Once we identified our financial need, about a week ago, we've had a strong positive response, and pushed our "funding crisis" out from being 10 days away to about 30+ days away, enough time for more visits, events, and communication. Again, if you have any suggestions, particularly for the $5K - $25K range donations, please let me know.

Coordinating and planning meetings are starting to become an important part of our mission, with a last week Monday meeting at the local Biloxi level, a Wednesday event coordinating across Harrison County, which includes Biloxi, Gulfport, and several smaller communities, and a Friday Governor's Commission get together which brought people from across Mississippi, and with more of a long term planning focus, appropriate for the Redevelopment phase, but inconsistent with the daily disaster recovery that is our strong suit. Jim Barksdale, founder of Netscape, is head of the Governor's Commission, and while we've exchanged a few e-mails I haven't met with him yet; would be great of we could use him to access support, either financial or technology-related, from the likes of Google, E-Bay, and Monster, or Microsoft, any of which could be a major asset in disaster management.

If you know of anyone you think would enjoy coming to our NYC event let me know; we'll probably also have one in Boston, and maybe Buffalo. Friends supporting friends.

Stay tuned

David

Great progress,..... and needing funds to complete

2005-11-04T03:50:00.000-08:00

Early Friday AM, and reviewing the results of the past week, and 2 months, in light of how much we've spent, and need, to complete our efforts into January.

A great project that came to fruition this week was the delivery of 100 shiny new Huffy bikes to the battered neighborhood of east Biloxi. These were purchased with a 50/50 donation from one of our volunteer donors, Dr Scott ( our resident psychologist for several weeks) and HandsOn, and provide a "lift", both emotionally and logistically. With so many families having lost their vehicles the bikes will be a much needed way to get around, and their chrome fenders and whitewall tires ( We'll buy a bunch of tire repair kits, too) bring some brightness to the streets; was great to see the assembly teams lining up rows and rows of to-be-delivered beauties, all to be allocated at one per family through the East Biloxi Coordinating Center.

We're also completing a project to rebuild the fence enclosing the secure kids play area at a local women's shelter, so the playground there can be used again. Conversations here pointed out a new discovery in "Disaster Economics" - since this center, like many local service entities, receives much of their budget support from Federal programs, which are delivered as a match to local funds, they will suffer a double hit as local fund sources are shut off, by conflicting needs and reduced employment, resulting in a triggered cutback of Federal funds. This can affect every health provider, mental and health services, school, etc. One hopes these issues will be dealt with, but right now there is no solution on the table. We'll build the fence, and hope.

We continue to make progress getting the Coastal Community Health Center back in business, with volunteers adding a handicapped ramp, and assisting in getting planned donations of equipped trailers for interim usre, while working on replacement of supplies, hardware and software, and hopefully some staff supplementary help.

With about 80 volunteers on hand we're sending out substantial teams for interior cleaning, FEMA site prep, tree and debris removal - making a dent in a massive problem.

We've raised over $200K, but spent almost $170K, so will need another $150K or so to carry our operations through to mid-January, particularly with the large influx of students and others we anticipate over both the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. If you have any major funding sources you can suggest to me, or provide, I'd appreciate it, and also are grateful for the steady flow of on-line donations that keep the daily needs for materials, food, vehicles and gas to keep us going.

At one of our all-hands meetings we discussed our approach of heads down, literally "Hands On" work, doing what we see is needed, and not focusing on what others aren't doing. One of our great volunteers, Monkey Mike, suggested the similarity in our actions to the quote, from Mahatma Gandhi, to "Be the Change You Wish to See in the World" I think we are living that, and, all in all, a nice way to start my birthday !

Have a wonderful day,

Suggestions, comments, thoughts.....always welcome

david

Trick or Treats in disaster area ?

2005-10-30T19:24:00.001-08:00

Back in Biloxi, and things continue to go well, with good volunteer morale, and stories: we are expecting up to 200 volunteers over both the Thanksgiving and Christmas Holidays ! ( and thinking about doing a special $25K fund raise to cover the additional costs).

Some great stories from today: Went to church this AM ( since they're giving us a free place to live, seems the decent thing to do), and had the pleasure of one of our HandsOn volunteers, Tad, standing alone on the altar delivering a magnificent rendition of God Bless the USA. Like so many things, we often don't really hear the words....until they're in a context like this. The song starts

"If tomorrow all the things were gone

I'd worked for all my life"

Those words captured everyone, and I admit I had tears running down my cheeks as this wonderful young man made us all proud, at least of what we're doing, together.

Working on breakfast prep I found out from one of our folks, Debbie, from Pittsburg, of a great project she is delivering this week. Her high school back in Pittsburg adopted the D'Ibberville school here on the Gulfcoast, and to allow them to go forward with their major high school social event, the Homecoming dance, to go forward, have sent down here 400 dresses and gowns, which Debbie and others are hemming, adjusting, etc .... and as a thank you FDebbie will be attending the dance !

Also found out that the Synagogue where we did the cleanup on Yom Kippur has now been invited to have their services at "our" church, so they'll be here every Friday night, a wonderful example of the sharing spirit we feel from our volunteers and the community.

Our abysmal government response is a tragic, different story. Major organizations are pulling back, or turning away volunteers, when there are mountains of debris, people begging for blankets, ice, water, transportation. The denials of insurance claims are starting to appear, and there are so few positive signs. We're actually sending volunteers to the Salvation Army to help out, and we're called by FEMA to do site prep work before they can deliver their trailers !

We will stay, grow, evolve, and prod the "system" to do what's right for the thousands of Americans feeling abandoned, and increasingly, forgotten.

Please tell anyone you know we need their help, will accept volunteers with no notice, have tremendously satisfying and productive, and needed, work to do. And they will have fun doing it. Here's an example; tomorrow is Halloween, and since there is so much debris it's impossible for kids to go Trick 'n Treating. So our Health team has developed a reverse; tomorrow 50 of our volunteers, in costume, will go through the neighborhoods, delivering bags of Halloween candy to the kids at their homes .... should be fun for all.

Keep us in your thoughts.....

Staying for the Holidays !

2005-10-24T00:15:00.000-07:00

I've spent the last week away from the project, and have described the experiemce to some friends as being analagous to going on a vacation to Disneyland; everything in the outside world seems so organized, and clean..... different than a disaster area, but somehow unnatural when you've gotten used to that environment.

When we discussed the duration of our engagement, initially scoped at three months, I thought considering a wind-down to let our folks head home for the end of year Holidays made sense. As we've had our first encounters with some organizations already pulling out, and in the face of what we know these folks have to deal with, we decided to stay a bit longer, through Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year's and into January. It's going to be a challenging enough season for them without the thought they're being abandoned.

Disaster response is generally considered to proceed through 4 specific phases: Response, Relief, Recovery, Redevelopment, and different groups see roles quite narrowly. I'm proud of what we've accomplished as First Responders, but hope we'll be effective through the planning phases of Recovery and Redevelopment.

On the way back to Boston I attended a conference in Washington, DC organized by NTEN, the Not-for-profit Technical Exchange Network, focusing on Disaster Response. Learned a lot from folks who do this as a career, and was impressed by their pragmatism, and collegiality. Much was made of the need to create working solutions, in the field. For example, when it seems like good satellite communications could be an essential component of any disaster response, one of the participants shared her experience, from Banda Aceh, after the tsunami. Sent in with a VSAT satellite that "only needed to be mounted on an 8' pole...." she found: 1- that there was nothing standing that was 8' high, and 2- when she tried to put up a pole set in concrete, for stability, discovered that you can't make concrete with sand that has been inundated with saltwater ( such as ALL the sand in tsunami areas); sand had to be flown in ! I made a number of contacts that I believe will help us plan and execute future assignments.

So Gay and I will plan on Thanksgiving in Biloxi, and Darius will shepherd our flock over Christmas time; should create some special memories.

The terrible earthquake in Pakistan tested our response capability ( too tough an environment for now, much to do here), and Wilma is now bearing down on Florida as I write. We have some volunteers anxious and willing to "do a road trip" and will try to have an early group on scene if Wilma creates a need.

Work orders keep building, and donations keep coming, so we have bought another highly effective debris removal machine, a John Deere skid-steer with a hydraulic grapple hook ( plus trailer to pull it around). We're adding a used truck as a cheaper alternative than rental vehicles, so have had to add insurance, etc. Also spent most of Sunday ( with great assistance from my wife, Gay) getting a formal written confirmation process for non-online donations; checks, wire transfers, etc, that have represented a large component of our funds raised. We received our formal confirmation of our 501C3 public charity status from the IRS, and intend to be punctilious with all regulations.

One idea that I hope we can develop is that of "Sponsors"; an organization that adopts a peer in the disaster area. Kris Cyr is making progress to get some MA area Community Health Centers interested in helping out the Gulfcoast CHC, and we have another friend getting started with his synagogue helping out the one we cleared about a week ago; I think this form of targetted assistance could be planned for, and quite powerful.

We have a great need for some additional PR; I think we have a powerful story, but would like to get some decent coverage of a true, volunteer effort ( over 300 participants already) that is making such a positive impact on people's lives, any suggestions or introductions welcome !

I'll wrap up this week in NYC/Boston, and head back to Biloxi for the weekend, alternating 7-10 day stints through year end.

Love your comments, thoughts, messages , suggestions.

Thanks for everything, David

Yom Kippur in Biloxi

2005-10-14T05:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you not of the Jewish faith, yesterday was Yom Kippur , the day of atonement. We "celebrated" this high holy day by sending a team of 20 to Temple Beth Israel in Biloxi, and providng a full treatment of interior purging of mouldy materials, external debris removal, including brickwalls that had been destroyed, numerous trees, etc. The facility is noow prepared for rug removal, and most importantly we put on a vinyl roof that will protect the furniture and fixtures that are still intact inside. A great, satisfying effort that I was proud to be part of ( felt good to be out getting dirty, since most of my time, even here, is involved with meetings).

My son-in-law Kris came down, as did his dad, Chip Cyr, so in addition to having some extra muscle we also met with the Director of a washed out Community Health Center, which lost all medical records for their served population of over 8,000, and also lost all computer equipment, supplies, etc. The building is being cleaned up, and we'll meet today to plot how to help them really get back in business. The Director said demand for services is high, but they've tapped their reserves, and need a financial solution in place within a few weeks. They may be an early tenant at the school building we are hoping to turn in to a new Biloxi Relief coordinating center.

This project is a tentaive go, but we need to make a plan for cleaning, utilities, a management structure, etc.

One of the big projects for today is replacing the street signs of Biloxi ! Darius recognized the need, since almost every sign was blown down, and there are so many people from everywhere else trying to find their way around. We've made up temporary signs for hundreds of locations ( with clearly applied letter names, but also a "Hands On" logo ) and will start putting them up today; written permission received from the Mayor with an enthusiastic endorsement of our efforts to date.

Part of the ongoing challenge in a disaster project is managing logistics, trying to find asupply of ever changing needs, at a no or low cost price. A Governor's Exchange program was announced, so I thought we would test it, and requested a tractor, and 6 computers, about a month ago. Got a "no" on the tractor, and a promise on the computers. This week 6 totally useless 10 year old stripped down pc's showed up, and I regretted having waited. It would cost as much to buy the RAM and disk that these don't have as to buy new simple work stations at $500 or so apiece, so that's what we'll do today.

FEMA is now sending us all work orders to prepare sites for trailers being made available for folks in Biloxi; seems absurd to me, but we do it because it helps out. They require that a site have access to a sewer point within 25', a clear area of some 20' x 40' etc, so almost no location is available without intervention, and we're known locally as the guys who get it done, so we have a steady flow. Our overall work order backlog is at about 200, with about 20 getting knocked off per day, but an equal number coming in. We have an influx of a group of Mormon volunteers, estimated at 50, joining us for the weekend, so hopefully that will cut into the backlog.

Donations over the net have been steady, and we've had some major gifts from some personal friends ( thanks, Brian, and Larry and Barbara), so we've been able to add 2 vehicles, and will get some additional much needed computer capability up and running.

For a wrap-up emotional perspective,we had one of our meds team who is leaving say goodbye at dinner last night. She had been here for 3 weeks, with her daughter, and said, in a strained and emotional voice, that she thought her daughter had learned more in her 3 weeks here than she had in the rest of her life. The experience of helping people who need it so desparately, in a productive and sharing environment, seems like an elixir for people's souls. Everyone wants to thank us for doing HandsOn, while we're thanking them for being Hands On.

David

Oct 7th update

2005-10-07T04:39:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being slow on the updates....things are just so busy ( including access to the computers at the Opns center) that I've kept pushing the blog off.

Fantastic progress, and satisfaction, in working with an ever-evolving team.

HandsOn has become an integral part of the Biloxi Relief Coordinating Committee, and we sat this week at the table with FEMA, RedCross, Salvation Army, OxFam, some church groups, and the local councilman/leader to lay out the first 90 day plans. We've been assigned point responsibility for a grid of streets in East Biloxi, which will enhance our effectiveness in deploying teams. That , coupled with our connections through Tony McPeak to the Keesler AF base, set the stage for our biggest bang: today we are having a joint clean-up effort with volunteers from the base, and expecting about 200 participants ! This will be a show of force that should make a visible difference, and lift the spirits of the people.

Our "camp" continues to evolve, with 30 vehicles on site Thursday night, over 70 people working the day, an array of equipment and skills, and shower facilities that have progressed from a hose hanging off a stepladder , to 2 tarp wrapped outdoor showers, to a brand new wood enclosed shower platform; our volunteers are fantastic, self-directed, and ever moving forward. We've also bought and installed 2 washers and dryers, so laundry problems are a thing of the past. ( at least they were until the drain impeller pump failed, but we'll get past that).

Had some folks from Perry Capital in NYC work as volunteers last week, then call down to offer help, and buy over $3K worth of new chain saws and pole saws that were delivered today - thanks !

Volunteer stories continue to amaze. A young man, Billy D, just showed up who had sold his motorcycle so he could leave his rent payment, and dropped everything to come down to help. On that note Elli rode HER motorcycle all the way from Colorado !
We're also getting our first wave of returnees, people who are on their second tour and hit the ground running; welcome back Tom and Krsitin !

We've put in a place a new radio system that allows us to stay in immediate contact with 10 crews, a big improvement in resupply and dispatch. Also expecting delivery today of 6 more computers so we can lay the foundation for some financial assistance advising I am anxious to get started for the locals, who will get chewed up by the process otherwise. Started working through a local group to get a bank to put a free standing cash checking facility down in the zone, people are now getting small checks from FEMA/RedCRoss but without transportation or ID have difficulty.

We've had some bumps along the road, not surprizing with 50 -75 people sharing a living facility, but extraordinarily high morale, shared sense of purpose, tremendous personal gratification from the faces and expressions of the people served, fun to still be quick with most decisions, and trying to find a good balance between process and immediate results..... but all in all most volunteers express a common, tear filled emotional theme when they're departing.... thank you all for doing this, it's been the most meaningful experience of my life....

enough said

please check out the 3 minute volunteer produced video at our website www.handsonusa.org

Returning to Mississippi

2005-10-02T13:44:00.000-07:00

Sunday evening, and completed a week in Boston where the major accomplishments were picking up my wife, Gay, on her return from a photo workshop trip to Africa, and completing one of the major steps/filings to finalize our IRS process ( thanks to Columbia Warren, Julie Nazzaro, and John Hession of McDermott, Will, & Emery, Boston).

Gay and I fly down to Biloxi tomorrow, and I'm anxious to see our new tractor and power washer,( courtesy of Bill Montague and the Mark IV folks); and thanks to Lamar Martin, the volunteer who led the purchase process !

Spoke at a session at Harvard this past Tuesday which was on telemedicine, and I had initially been invited when it was assumed we'd be taking the HandsOn approach to support MassGeneral projects around Sudan, but instead used the platform to give my views on what emergency communications capabilities SHOULD be, and to rant about the lack of federal presence in Mississippi. ( To use a favorite Ron Guerriero phrase, he commented that "...your hair was on fire".

Through the introduction from friend Gen Tony McPeak had a conversation with the commanding officer of Keesler AF base, which is positioned right in the heart of Biloxi, and we will meet with folks from the base Tuesday AM to see how we might be able to support each other.

Darius has been on site all week, and progress and process both seem strong. I'm optimistic that we'll be able to keep our volunteer flow steady, and that well-equipped, highly motivated individuals will produce positive and meaningful results for the beleaugered residents. I'd also like to reconnect with some of the media we interacted with in the early going, to see if we can keep some attention on this tragedy, before the funds allocation process gets too politicized.

I'll update again within 24 hours of getting a local reading......

Best, David

Outrage

2005-09-25T21:11:00.000-07:00

Several days since I last posted, and different thoughts to communicate. I aplogize, that my Mississippi postings have been so sporadic; when I was in Thailand the only world was that of the tsunami effort, but here the "other world" keeps intruding, and distracting, and I lose my place.

I spoke at a conference at Harvard yesterday, initially invited in the anticipation that I would be planning a project in Africa, to support telemedicine outreach efforts there, but Katrina intervened. But I spoke anyway, because I thought we had a message of urgency, worth hearing.

One message was my perspective, as an American, of our national response to the disaster in our midst in the Gulfcoast. My feelings had evolved from disappointment, to embarassment, to anger, to outrage....at our lack of an effective federal response. My issue is apolitical; but driven to find a way to change a system that so fails our people.

Many positive things are happening too, but all "from the people". I spoke last night with an 8 year old girl , Micaela Rhile, who had sent HandsOnWorldwide a check for $146.14 she raised by selling used books, and cookies. I told her we would use that money to buy three tents, so that people could have a safe place to stay, and she seemed pleased. This is such a good thing,

My daughter Piper wrote to remond me that I had left the "tetanus story" incomplete, so here's the rest of that one. The folks on the hospital ship Comfort had plenty of tetanus, but there was concern that FEMA wouldn't allow distribution. And we found 2,000 units up in Boston, but since the hospital folks there had sent so many staff and supplies on before, we would have had to pay $32,000 for that supply. We spent some effort in looking for sources of donation, but gave up, and moved on to other issues. It just didn't seem like the proper way to use our scarce resources, and I believe other souces will flow to meet the need we identified.

Late Monday afternoon , after much beuracratic challenge, but also singular acts of initiative on parts of folks at both B of A and Lee's tractor, we got delivery of our very own Kubota 28 hp tractor, trailer, and all. God Bless Lamar Martin for perseverance, and let the debris removal begin !

Our list of ideas for how to help continues to grow, as fast as our actual on site competence keeps ramping up. Logistics is a constant issue, i.e., matching what's coming with who needs it, and deciding what we need, versus sources of donation, great price, or whatever it takes to get the job done. I think Meg Whitman and the folks at E-Bay could help mightily with a special site to match needs and donors, and Jeff Taylor at Monster could do the same to match volunteers and organizations, so if any receptive readers have a connection to either, please lobby on our behalf.

Knowing I would be spending extended time in Mississipppi it seemed appropriate to catch up on my Faulkner reading, and early on I found the attached quote, from Faulkner's accetance speech on receipt of his Nobel literature award in 1950; it seems to beautifully capture the spirit I find prevalent in his native state, rising from the current disaster:

I believe that man will not merely endure. He will prevail. He is immortal, not because he alone among creatures has an inexhaustible voice, but because he has a soul, a spirit capable of compassion and sacrifice and endurance.
William Faulkner

We shall overcome.

God bless,

David

Rita'simpact

2005-09-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Friday night, 24 hours after I arrived back. Other than the tornado alert here, the rising water nearby, and the power that has gone out 4 times today, we're hard at work. The week seems to have been effectively managed, no small trick with over 70 volunteers from all parts of the country.

We have established good relationships with the city of Biloxi, including the Mayor and the councilmen from 2 of the most severely affected areas; we are sending in dozens of volunteers who are aiding in clean-up of a Buddhist temple ( in a VietNamese community), a Catholic Church, and a major community center. Late this afternoon we had a search on to buy generators for ourselves, to keep the refrigerator and safety lights on, in anticipation of power outages due to Rita's impact. It may pass up by, but we'll probably get strong winds and heavy rain, at the least. Crews worked a full and fruitful day today.

We have to deal with another major management transition, as several of our key positions are "movin' on" over the next few days. Mark, Tom, and others have needs to meet, and with the flight cancellations due to Houston shutting down not all of our replacements will make it; so we'll figure it out tonight !

With Rita distracting people's attention, we sense that Mississippi will soon fall from the national attention, though the massive problems remain. We debated sending a team to start up a "HandsOnTexas", but we're too thin here, and need to focus our forces. Wre'll stay put, and get this job done.

Wonderful support from Bill Montague, and the Mark IV company, and Chip Drapeau and the folks at MRO, will provide essential funds to allow us to continue to put all our efforts into the tasks at hand.

We picked up our new trailer today, and can now haul our own tractor ( planned pick-up Monday) to increase productivity.

We hope the tarps stay on the houses, the rain moves past, people stay as satisfied and self-motivated as they have been, and together we all get through this. Most of our volunteers tell me this has been one of the most satisfying times of their lives, and it feels great to have provided a platform to allow people to follow their hearts. There is a lot of goodness out there.

God Bless,

David

weekend update

2005-09-18T20:47:00.000-07:00

Sunday night, and I have to get up in 6 hours to catch a flight, so will be brief. Weekend saw an influx of helpers, peaking at 53 Saturday evening. Expected a big dropoff going in to the week, but looks like we'll be at 40+ from Tuesday on; you can get a lot of work done with a well equipped, highly charged crew like that.

We had the barbeque Saturday night, but found out most of the police preferred spending their free time at home ( a shocker) so attendance was light, but several crews of firemen and all the volunteers did justice to a beautiful layout of chicken and tender ribs, all provided by a team from Angel Flights from Alabama.

Working in the poorest neighborhoods of E.Biloxi, and also sent 5 volunteers up to an animal shelter to assist in caring for animals and to generally pitch in. Seems very satisfying, and important, to the folks who went.

Received notice of a wonderful gift of $5K from a friend, coupled with $25K from his company; we'll convert that into a full tractor with trailer and increase the productivity of our crews. Our capital budget approval process is quite direct, I expect the machine will be at work this week.

I will be on the road to Boston and Dallas this week, returning here Thursday night; will to a project update then.

Thanks for all your thoughts and support, David

some time to reflect on the devastation

2005-09-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Midday Friday, and since I decided to work out of the OPs Center today, a surprizingly quiet time.

I toured some of the poorer area of Biloxi yesterday, and need to share my feelings with you. This is a heart-wrenching situation, even after being here 10 days one cannot comprehend the massive swath of destroyed property, and horrendous impact on people's lives. I have had countless conversations with people who simply state; "I've lost everything....", then go on to thank us for being here........

I worry that the news flow will focus on who should have done something, or worse "why did they live there...?". Most of these people have been here for generations, it's what they know, love, and hold onto. They did nothing to deserve this sweeping and total loss.

The magnitude of cleanup and reconstruction makes clear that all here are in for a very long time of being unsettled, and will need most of their energy to get by day to day. Living in a school-turned-to temporary shelter, and shuffling through a foodline, is not what they want to be doing. They remain gracious, but struggle with the immense challenges ahead of them.

I saw my first Red Cross vehicle yesterday, and FEMA set up a facility just down the street. I am concerned for people who will not be battered by the Insurance/FEMA/mortgage bank local aid process, and we will try to develop some capability to understand their rights, and guide them through the "MACHINE".

Our volunteer count continues to build, and the incoming flow over the next 2 weeks looks to take us to 50+. We now have to start the management issues of people ( like me) who have to return to normal lives, even if for brief periods, and keep our momentum strong. Imagine any of the issues in getting 50 people together, sharing common eating/sleeping quarters ( with one shower !), logistics for deploying crews, with chainsaws and other equipment.....you get the idea.

We are warmly accepting new volunteers, appreciate donations at www.HandsOnUSA.org, and am happy to add any additional information, or answer questions, either posted as comments or sent to me directly.

Say a prayer for these folks.....

David

in full swing....

2005-09-15T07:38:00.000-07:00

Our days start at 7 AM, and end with a daily all hands meeting from about 8:30 PM to 9'sh, lights out at 10 and everyone crashes hard.

Two teams headed out this AM to do tree removal; you know your life has changed somewhat when a big orange Kubota front-loader is the most beautiful sight to see ! But the new better chainsaws, addition of skilled workers, and some more trucks and equipment are helping Dick Clinton ramp up our daily productivity.

We have another team, with 2 nurses, heading off to some of the poorer areas of Biloxi to distribute supplies, and give tetanus shots.

Tetanus is in short supply, and since our intent is to drive problems to resolution, we went on a hunt. Ron Guerriero carried our plight to folks in Boston at Brigham & Women's, who will see if they can donate 2,000 doses, and Steve Kahn of Advent/AngelFlights has offerred to fly it down, if we get it. We also connected with the MassGen folks who are on the hospital ship Hope, berthed in Pascagoula, about 20 miles( but an hour + drive due to washed out bridges) who may be a source. We have some direct connections with people in need, and they have skills and resources, so we'll try to make it work; stay tuned.

We've had good news coverage from Huntsville TV, and a Chicago newspaper, and each exposure brings some additional volunteers. We're up to 16 as of last night, and ready for more.

We also (finally) got our on-line donation capability working, thanks to all the BofA folks, Pete Kirkwood, Darius, et al. Please continue to check out our site, and even try the cool donation capability: http://www.handsonusa.org/

The Governor of Mississippi has initiated a commission to address economic redevelopment needs, headed by Jim Barksdale of Netscape fame; we've made contact and hope to persuade them to start holding some regional coordination meetings to help all the helpers help each other.

All in all our crew is working hard, feeling good, making a difference, growing, tired, and ready to be adaptive to evolving, changing needs.

Volunteers are already extending their planned stays, and everyone who has had to leave has promised to return, soon. Many of our new folks had tried to connect with the Red Cross, or others, but got frustrated with the delay and "red tape" ; so far we're able to stay crisp and direct, and that seems attractive to people who just want to work, and help.

Although it's now 2 weeks past the disaster, the needs here remain massive; it's now being referred to as the largesr reconstruction project in US history. We will try to evolve to match the changing needs of the locals.

Check out the photo gallery on our website to get a sense of what's happening.

Best, David

Ready for Prime Time:

2005-09-12T05:24:00.000-07:00

Monday AM, and feeling pretty well prepared for a week that we believe will add about 30 volunteers, and put us into full production mode. We've had out first outflow from the original team, with Suzanne Stahl back to Phoenix, but planning her return, and Gail and Doug back to NYC; great contributions while here, and Gail will be back most weekends, always with more people, supplies, and ideas.

We added 2, Tom from Boston area, and Jason, who drove down from Chicago. But the big influx is Wednesday, when 20+ are expected, including our own professional chef! So far we've been eating with the Police, or having meals delivered to the church from the excess of the massive feeding effort Mississippi Power puts on for all the repair crews.

Went to Church service Sunday AM, 9/11. All the words took on such a special meaning, remembering the disaster past, but living in a disaster present. The congregation is so appreciative of our presence, and we had a chance to speak about our "mission", and thank them for their support. It's a small group, very warm and caring, with many members who literally lost everything. In many cases people have lost their home, all contents, and their job. We've had our first conversations with small business owners, who are crippled. I'm thinking we might engage the casino owners, the major employers in the area, in some sort of biz recovery program.

We continue our tree removal activities, with the new Stihl chainsaws working great, and met with the Ocean Springs and Biloxi PD's to extend our support to them, Ocean Springs lost 25 of their 35 car fleet. We will also start to reach out to the Fire Departments, which were equally devastated in terms of lost equipment.

With all the loss, and stress, I have not heard anyone utter an unkind word in the 5 days we've been here. Everyone feels the loss, shares the pain, and struggles to cope and move on.

I've also been impressed with the total lack of any sign of racial "unease", with totally blended police departments of all locations and races working amicably and professionally to address the challenges. There is still a hard 8 PM curfew, aggressively enforced, no power or phone service to much of the community, etc, so a tight lid is being kept on to prevent looting, fires, etc.

Pres Bush is coming to Gulfport today, but I only know that from the newspaper, wasn't a topic of conversation. Since Mississippi has a Republican Governor, Haley Barbour, I expect he'll get a warmer reception here than he might receive over in Louisiana.

The AngelFlight network is being incredibly supportive of us, taking "wish lists", then sourcing and delivering to us for use or distribution. Thanks to Deb Deal and all their great members.

Our current need is to get improved internet access at our Church/Ops center, and also to get a real 8 station or so small business computer network up and operational asap. We will also have a need for 5 or so additional vehicles, so if anyone has suggestions, connections to an auto-dealer/rental organization for some 3 month loaners, whatever, please let me know.

Appreciate your thoughts and support, and a great donation from Lee and Nancy Keet.

Plenty of work to do, and expect we'll be hard at it this week.

The HandsOnUSA.org website has updated information for volunteers, like a rideshare forum, and a photo gallery, with pictures of our facility, and projects : http://www.handsonusa.org/

Help in any way you can, David

Sat AM flash report

2005-09-10T08:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was getting set up at our new ops center, then welcoming additional volunteers, and getting started on cleaning up at one more house. All punctuated with the sounds of helicopters ( Marines, Coast Guard, Army, and media) as a pretty constant background.

Met at the Police Department this AM re their particular losses, which includes 25 vehicles totalled, and heavy impact on their electronics and mechanical shop; we're headed out there now to tally up a cost and strategy for replacement.

Many volunteers made contact due to the NPR show ( link to hear the 8 minute interview is on our www.handsonusa.org website), so we're now ready to house and feed additional dozens.

Weather has been warm and dry, most power still out, traffic lights sporadic, attitudes pretty god. Time to get going on more Police Department housing projects, investigate broader needs, think about business community connections, etc.

Had 7 of us at the combined ops center/sleeping/eating facility, which helps with coordination.

And yes, even found a store that sells beer.

Angel Flights is bringing 4 shipments of various supplies, but I'm off to buy some industrial quality chainsaws, we chewed up 2 yesterday.

Best, David

On the scene in Mississippi

2005-09-08T18:06:00.000-07:00

We arrived in Gulfport 24 hours ago, and with thanks to Dick Clinton and Suzanne Stahl, who were here before I arrived with Darius Monsef, they had gotten us well-linked into the Gulfport Police Department ( I'm writing this at 8 PM from the PD headquarters).

Today we:

- arranged for a great permanent ( 3 months) operations center in a donated church, where we'll have ample room for organization and staff, a kitchen, and a big grassy area we will use as a tent city ( with ample room inside for air matresses, etc

- bought chainsaws, duct tape, a range of tools

-started by helping out police who have been unable to take care of their own family & friends by spending 3 hours of sawing and hauling to clean up a beleaugered family

-did "from the scene" interviews with Robing Young of NPR, and Jim Browdie of New England Cable News

-got our website (almost) ready to accept on-line donations, but we can accept direct or wire transfers to our B of A account ( on the www.HandsOnUSA.org website)
Special thanks to John Hession of MW&E, and Joe Williams of BofA in Concord,MA, and their staffs, for helping us get the 501C3 process completed just in time for our departure.

- tomorrow we'll be able to start to communicate with volunteers, because we can now provide housing and meals ; also the Gulfport airport, within 15 minutes, just opened for commercial traffic today.

-we also coordinated another Angel flight, this one bringing in supplies, though these guys have been very supportive and responsive to a range of personal situations.

Re security, I guess we're as safe as you can be when you're in a mess hall ( where we eat all meals so far) where everyone else is wearing a gun......but also a badge.

There's police from all over, and everyone seems dedicated, cordial, supportive, responive.

The devastation is extreme, we visited mid-day with a family that had a home on the Gulf for decades, that was stripped down to just a concrete slab ( and some steps). The folks who lived there, and survived Camille and all the others, were picking through the wreckage for small mementoes.....silverware, some special coffee cups, etc ; everything is completely destroyed.

There is an army of utility construction, and tree cutters, literally numbering in the thousands, deployed. But the effort here will clearly be many months, and people, happy they survived, may not yet realize the shock of the loss they've experienced.

It sure looks the same as Thailand did after the tsunami, but hopefully the strength of our country will bring this problem under control.

We will be adding photos and info to the website as soon as we can, but expect we're here for a solid 3 months.

Donations will be used to help feed volunteers, to buy supplies for repair and construction, and to address other problems as we discover them. Anything you can do to help will be much appreciated by these fine people.

Happy to hear your comments, questions, suggestions.

Enjoy life , and share

David

Labor Day update

2005-09-05T06:38:00.000-07:00

Not surprisingly, plans have changed. Project center looks to be Gulfport,MS, and due to the urgency of getting started I now plan to fly down, as soon as I complete the legalities of getting HandsOnUSA.org established and initially funded. Our plan for starting is to link with the Gulfport Police department , and start by providing clean-up & secure assistance to all the public workers who've been going 24/7 and haven't had time to take care of their own families. From there we'll expand out, as our capacity grows. Gulfport is a city of about 70,000 people right on the Gulf, west of Biloxi, that experienced extreme damage.

I spoke on the phone this AM with John Donnelly, a Boston Globe reporter based in Africa ( where we had planned to launch our next project until Katrina showed up). John had written about our tsunami project, and was interested in whether there were "lessons to be learned" ; I think yes. We are now approaching the end of week 1 of what will turn out to be a 3-6 month recovery effort, followed bu a 3 year rebuilding program, and hopefully a start to some permanent changes on how we manage ourselves. For 2 simpole examples: 1) there is no need for a lack of emergency communications. Technology exists to power satellite based phone/internet access off car batteries, and every key emergency function should be so equipped; hopefully this obvious solution will move into common availability 2) hundred of thousands of people will have lost their medical records, and all drugs, prescriptions,etc. We have the technology to match SS#/fingerprint/dna to an electronic comprehensive medical record, so that any individual could appear at any facility, and be properly administered; maybe this will accelerate that essential progress.

Another lesson from the tsunami is the anticipation of the impending frustation that people will feel when their needs are repeatedly assessed, e.g. by local, state, federal, Red Cross,etc, but little immediate assistance is forthcoming. It is also very difficult to "fairly" apportion assistance; if two neighbors both lost their homes, but one was 2X the value of the other, what's fair - same amount to both, or replacement ? And who's to know what possessions really existed, before the loss.

As in Thailand, where the hundreds of thousands of non-legal Burmese residents received no assistance, what will happen for any of the non-legal residents of these affected areas? They're still people, with great losses, and needs.

Sensing the current media fascination with looking backward, at what woulda/coulda/shoulda been done, a major challenge will be to focus forward, to anticipate, move, start doing, to make life better. Hopefully, that's what we'll be about, next week.

Cheers, David

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Here we go again ! Off to Katrina-land

2005-09-03T08:18:00.000-07:00

The horrific effects of Hurrican Katrina have led us to decide to launch a HandsOnUSA.org project, modelled on the success we achieved after the tsunami ( see our site at www.HandsOnThailand.org , or my blog at http://www.dncthailand2005.blogspot.com/

I will pack up a Jeep with supplies: portable generators, chainsaws, batteries, etc, and start the 1,600 mi drive from Boston Wednesday AM. I'm sticking around only to finalize getting a 501C3 official IRS not-for-profit organizational designation, and a related bank account set up; we found in Thailand that not having smooth channels for donations was an enduring difficulty, and since I see this as a 3-6 month effort figure we might as while get the foundation correct.

A team of folks experienced from Thailand, including Darius Monsef and Dick Clinton, will meet up later in the week in Jackson,MS, and establish an operations center there, and someplace in addition closer to the need, if possible.

I spoke this Saturday morning with a friend from the Boston Globe who is on-site, and describes the environment as "worse than you can imagine, lawless...". Apparently the New Orleans airport has been turned into a combination hospital/morgue.

What possible good can we do ? The tsunami experience gives us some perspective on the waves of anquish that will hit people over the next several weeks, and I think we can help "pace" expectations and reality. The fundamental processes of cleaning and securing property, and using our access to the internet to help people match up with housing, aid, or other family members, will hopefully prove valuable. We will also endeavor to provide sensible targetted funds where we see they can be effective; being there we will find locals we trust, and needs that can be addressed, and we can be uniquely quick and direct about getting things done.

I've learned and thought a lot since January about humanitarian crises, and our response to them; in fact I had been well along on a plan to go to the Sudan region of Africa in November to set up a HandsOn project to provide internet & communications help to the NGO's dealing with that massive refugee crisis, but Katrina intervened. We are respectful of the roles that FEMA, the Red Cross, and the many other organizations play, but I am convinced that direct people-to-people help, with caring and committed volunteers, is immensely valuable and good, for both recipient and giver. This one-to-one relationship also creates a trusted channel for very effective directed donations, and therefore an outlet for the many who want to help, but can't be on site.

So, I hope you'll join me on this ride. I'll try to update the blog at least every other day, and will share in an open way the real experiences, challenges, frustations, and joys that I expect will be part of this new journey.

Love, David