Hurricane/Flood Relief

Had the following note this morning from Natalie in Mississippi, an online acquaintance from her postings at a Yahoo group or two and her blog. I'll keep you posted on anything else I get from her, and will link to her blog when the information is up there. If you want to get in touch with her, too, her email contact info is at her blog, too.

Thanks for checking in. We're in central MS in the Jackson metro area. Our neighborhood sustained some moderate damage, the worst being one home with half the roof missing. Somehow we managed to retain all our utilities, amazingly, even the satellite tv. We have some minor fence and roof damage, and that's all. We are fully aware of how lucky we are.

We have several homeschoolers in the PEAK Coast group that have lost everything. So far, I've only heard from three of them. I hope the rest made it out. There's nothing left down there. According to the stories we've heard, reality makes the news coverage look mild. Jeanne and I are in the process of formulating a plan for people who want to help our homeschoolers. I'll blog it tonight, but essentially we're directing those who wish to help immediately to the Red Cross and Salvation Army, which is looking for monetary donations. We are also asking people who wish to assist homeschoolers with materials to go ahead and start book drives or fundraising efforts now so we can coordinate and help MS homeschoolers rebuild their resources as soon as we are able (in about 6 weeks, I'm guessing).

If you'd like to coordinate local efforts to help specific families, let me know and I can put you in contact with two that I know of for sure who have literally lost everything. Just email me and I'll put you in contact. I know that they are both going to run short on funds very soon, so that might be an area you all can help with in a homeschooler-to-homeschooler way.

As for my neck of the woods, Jackson is about 200 miles from the coast, so Katrina was a Cat. 2 when it hit just east of us. All the highways and interstates south of Jackson are closed, but some people have managed to make it to Hattiesburg (about 60 miles from the coast) only to be turned back to Jackson.

Since this is the closest anyone can get, Jackson is beginning to look like one big refugee camp. Survivors from the south are being bused in to escape the devastation while people who fled are attempting to get back down there. Everything is bottle-necking in Jackson with people waiting four-five hours to get gas, grocery stores shelves stripped bare and shelters filling to capacity. Patience is wearing thin as people get more frustrated and anxious. It's kinda crazy out there.