Need equipment

[aidfrompens]

My husband and I have a construction company. We are natives of Pensacola, FL and started our company to help our friends, family, and neighbors during their recovery and rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Ivan last September.

I have building materials and several crews at my disposal, but I do not have the financial means to launch a recovery mission that will begin at Mobile and work toward New Orleans. I would need trucks, dump trucks, hydraulic dump trailers, bobcats, backhoes, chainsaws, etc. Plus, I would have to make payroll for my crews (they are survivors of Ivan and cannot afford to volunteer their time). I want to do more than make a ?cash contribution? to a charity organization. I want to be beside these people, helping them rebuild their lives.

I am willing to DO WHAT EVER IT TAKES to help the survivors along the Gulf Coast - retrieving the deceased, drop-off of emergency supplies, debris clean-up, rescue the survivors trapped in their homes - WHAT EVER IT TAKES to make their lives better. My heart breaks as I watch the news. My thoughts and prayers are with these people. I know what it means to lose everything, but I have never had to deal with the kind of situation the people trapped in New Orleans are having to live through - they are losing more than anyone can imagine - their own lives, the lives of their friends and family, and the mental trauma associated with the horrific living conditions they are faced with. The most upsetting thing about this is that this is a DAILY EVENT for these people, still.

I have registered with FEMA to help. I have registered with every response organization I could find. I am getting frustrated because I want to help and I am not getting any responses from these agencies. I would imagine, though, that I will not get a response for a while - the emergency response organizations simply don't have the manpower to process all the information they are receiving in a timely manner. I fear that by the time I hear back from them, it will be too late to help those that really need it.

Thanks!

[Monkey Phat]

You and your husband are in a unique position to help these people. Most of us want to help, but don't have the skills or resources. Please, please, keep contacting Habitat For Humanity. Don't give up, I KNOW how frustrating it is to want to help but can't because the relief organizations are overwhelmed with offers of help.

In a month, after the initial shock and horror start to wear off, volunteers will be fewer and harder to find. That addresses the issue of you helping rebuild these peoples' lives.

As for helping right now, keep calling organizations that could utilize you. The person who answered the phone yesterday might not have known how to get you into service right away. Today, they may beg and plead with you to get started!

God bless you and your family for what you are doing! Keep at them!

Kim

[NicoMoon]

These kinds of posts need to include contact information!! I tried to email you, but you aren't accepting emails. Please allow people to contact you or check your PMs and the boards regularly!!!

Thanks for your heartfelt offer.

We all need to realize that this is the current frustration for thousands and thousands of volunteers. The large agencies are not handling these kinds of requests, so we have to start coordinating on our own.

I cannot stress this enough!!! If we wait for the government and the relief agencies to direct us, we will be waiting for a long time. We CAN do this on our own by working together, and that is what this site is here for!!

Please crosspost these kinds of offers into the Coordinators and projects threads, include contact information, and ask for the specific assistance you need.

Volunteers, please take note, and jump into one of these projects. it only takes a few people working together to get each of these projects coordinated.