On August 29, 2005, Wesley Thomas left for his job in the dispatch and readier room of the oil company he worked for just like any other normal day – but it wasn’t a normal day. As the rains and winds of Hurricane Katrina poured down on Louisiana, the levee in New Orleans broke and Thomas and thousands of others became stranded.

Wesley Thomas and group Wesley Thomas & Ben Huizinga

On August 29, 2005, Wesley Thomas left for his job in the dispatch and readier room of the oil company he worked for just like any other normal day – but it wasn’t a normal day. As the rains and winds of Hurricane Katrina poured down on Louisiana, the levee in New Orleans broke and Thomas and thousands of others became stranded.

Five years later, he was able to move back into his New Orleans home thanks, in part, to the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC), which responded to this devastating storm with its largest ever North America disaster response program.

“My fiancée and her three kids were with me,” recalls the 54-year old Thomas of the day Katrina hit. “After 4 days the company that I worked for hired a crew to come and get us.”

Thomas and his family used boats to escape the garage where they had taken refuge, but that was just the beginning. His fiancée was evacuated to Houston with her children, while Thomas went to Beaumont, Texas. In the end, Thomas lost his job, his home, his fiancée, and his health as a result of the storm. Today, the memories of the experience still pain him, but he’s also grateful for the help he received.

Like so many Katrina survivors, Thomas’ story was not just about the storm. In the aftermath of the hurricane’s destruction, thousands of people were left with few options for shelter, employment, or assistance. They also struggled with health problems, and post-traumatic stress.

“After going to many places trying to find places to stay, I ended up in Beaumont Texas,” recalls Thomas. “After about two weeks, I ended up going through it all again with Hurricane Rita. That was truly traumatic.”

From Beaumont, Thomas went to Jackson, Tennessee where he stayed until his company called him in December 2005. They were relocating from New Orleans to Lafayette, Louisiana and wanted to know if Thomas wanted to work for them in the mail room. He jumped at the chance for employment and spent the next 30 days sleeping in his truck and working in Lafayette while he searched for a place to live.

“About 30 days later I found a place where I could unload my truck and settle down for awhile. Before long I heard that we were moving back to New Orleans in 2007. Three or four months after we moved back they decided to shut down operations,” he said.

Newly unemployed, with a truck loan to repay and a home still in ruins from Katrina, Thomas looked for help. Aid from the government was unavailable or inaccessible to him, in part because he had been employed for a short time after Katrina. That’s
when he was referred to CRWRC’s partner, the Southeast Louisiana Disaster Recovery organization.

Following Katrina, CRWRC helped 11 long-term recovery organizations get started, including Southeast Louisiana Recovery. CRWRC provided these organizations with training and capacity building so that they would be equipped to assess and respond to the variety of unmet needs of those in their communities. CRWRC also provided over $2 million of grants to 43 organizations to help them expand their reach as much as possible.

“I had turned to so many people and places asking for help,” explains Thomas. “At the end of November in 2009, my brother called me up and said that some man had called for me and asked if I still needed help to get my house back together. He gave me the guy’s phone number. CRWRC came about through them.”

Through Southeast Louisiana Recovery, Thomas was identified as someone with outstanding needs. The organization then arranged for groups of volunteers to work on Thomas’ house to repair the damage. Over the next three months, more than 20 CRWRC disaster response volunteers worked on Thomas’ home.

“The home was uninhabitable when the CRWRC groups arrived,” recalls Ben Huizinga, CRWRC ‘s on-site manager. “It had been completely gutted due to extensive water damage. The water came up to the ceiling.”

The CRWRC volunteers insulated the home, installed drywall, put in new flooring and trim, and installed new doors and cabinets. When Thomas came through the property in February 2010, he couldn’t believe his eyes.

“Smiles, tears, frowns, joy, anger and frustration all appeared in the space of an hour as Wesley Thomas entered and walked through his almost completely rehabilitated home,” remembers CRWRC volunteer John Apol. “His joy at seeing his home, devastated by Katrina flood waters in 2005 and now being renewed with sparkling new wall board, being given the finishing touches by the volunteers present, was evident from the broad grin on his face as he went from room to room. Expressing great appreciation for the wonderful job done by CRWRC volunteer teams over the past several months, Wesley also told of his continuing faith in God during this difficult time.”

“All those people from your organizations are true angels,” added Thomas. “They look like we all do, but they are angels. They are a blessing. They come from all over because they wanted to help. You all are always welcome in my home.”

Hurricane Katrina Fast Facts

• Hurricane Katrina, which made landfall as a Category 4 hurricane on August 29, 2005, ripped apart the coastal regions of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. It ranks among the most destructive and costly natural disasters in the history of the United States.
• The Christian Reformed Church responded: $6,544,214 USD was donated to CRWRC’s Katrina response.
• Clothing, toys, and personal care items were donated to CRWRC’s offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan. These were used to provide for over 200 Katrina survivors who relocated to the Grand Rapids area after the storm. Additional truck loads of donated goods were driven by CRWRC volunteers to communities from East Texas to Mississippi.
• 14 Christian Reformed Churches across the United States hosted 57 evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi.
• CRWRC and Partners Worldwide assisted small businesses in southern Mississippi.
• CRWRC equipped 11 long-term recovery organizations to enable them to provide aid in coastal areas
• CRWRC provided $2,210,479 in grants to 43 organizations. With this money these organizations were able to repair 3,906 homes and build 731 houses.
• 7,252 CRWRC volunteers worked 691,310 hours to finish 42,094 Katrina-related projects.

~ Kristen deRoo Vanderberg, CRWRC Communications