West Milford residents become helping hands in New Orleans

WEST MILFORD, N.J. — Rather than just watch the devastation of Hurricane Katrina on CNN, five West Milford residents along with six other volunteers donned their N95 dust masks and took up crowbars, hammers, rakes, and shovels to tear their way through the destruction in New Orleans. Team leaders, Norma and Karl Stehle of Our Lady Queen of Peace Church in Hewitt and fellow parishioners Al Szescuik and Drew Wood joined Mary Vetreno of St. Joe’s parish. The team of eleven included parishioners from St. Matthew’s in Randolph, Metropolitan Community Church in Manhattan, St. Paul’s in Clifton and Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha in Sparta. The Paterson Diocese of Catholic Charities organized the effort in conjunction with their counterpart in New Orleans. On Jan. 8, the team was given an early morning send off by Joe Duffy, Catholic Charities Executive Director of Social Services, Paterson Diocese, before they flew to New Orleans. The week-long project was characterized by hard work and team spirit. The team gutted three homes for elderly and/or infirm low-income individuals in both the Gentilly and Uptown New Orleans neighborhoods. New Orleans Catholic Charities screened the applicants and prioritized the need for the gutting process. Another volunteer organization, Rebuilding Together, has committed to the reconstruction effort once the houses are inspected. One of the Gentilly homeowners whose bungalow-style house suffered extensive flood damage was Lily, a devout Baptist. The frail 88 year-old has endured two minor strokes since Katrina. She resides temporarily with her daughter, a retired teacher, in a rented apartment on higher ground. She told the team that she and her husband scrimped and saved to educate their five children before she finally bought their house at age 60. Pauline, a 77 year-old former food service worker is a widow and mother of three grown children. She also took in her five nieces and nephews when her sister died. Pauline’s expressed her deep appreciation of the team’s help by making a gift of her cherished collection of Mardi Gras beads. When the team first met Pauline she was depressed and disheartened. During the two days the team and Pauline spent together, however, a decisive change in her spirits was obvious. Finally, imagine the frustration of Eva, a handicapped diabetic who has been displaced to California. Her numerous phone calls to her neighbor with pleas to salvage clothes, photo albums and small treasures she had accumulated over a lifetime touched the hearts of the team members and personalized their plight.