CALLED to the COAST

Senior Audrey Clayton has devoted a lot of her college life to rebuilding areas of the Gulf Coast ravaged by Hurricane Katrina. So when Clayton learned Hurricane Gustav was heading that same way, she knew what she had to do.

“When I saw the news stations forecasting that Hurricane Gustav would strike the Gulf Coast, I knew I had to go,” said Clayton, who is also the co-founder of The Youth Advocating Leadership and Learning program. “I couldn’t just sit by, watch it happen and do nothing about it.”

SLIDE SHOW
Relief trip to Biloxi, Miss.

VIDEO
Hurricane Gustav Relief Trip

On Thursday, eight members of Y’ALL went down to Biloxi, Miss., to help with hurricane relief efforts. Y’ALL was formed in 2005 when 200 students went to Mississippi to help the relief effort after Hurricane Katrina destroyed or damaged much of the Gulf Coast region.

For the students who went to Mississippi with Y’ALL this past weekend, their main job was to get the work camp Urban Life Missions back into shape.

The student group has worked at ULM several times, said recent graduate Michael Deranek.

“We helped get the camp up and running so they can continue the process of housing other volunteers,” he said.

Scrambling around the work site, located only 100 feet from the coast, each of the eight volunteers made sure they stayed focused and got their job done.

“We did a lot of repairing,” Clayton said. “Holes in ceilings, setting back up a wall, repairing tents where other volunteers stay and a lot of cleaning.”

While the volunteers were there, the Gulf Coast was under a tropical storm warning for Hurricane Ike, which hit near Galveston, Texas, early Saturday.

“Friday morning we went down to the coast,” Clayton said. “Highway 90 was flooded, and the waves were really powerful. The wind was going at least 40-45 miles an hour.”

With only three full work days down on the coast, graduate student Michael Nosofsky said he believed they made a difference, even though they were there for a short time.

“We were able to get a lot accomplished in only three days,” Nosofsky said. “Although we weren’t there long, we left with a smile on our faces.”

Getting a chance to talk to locals about their experiences is something that most volunteers look forward to, Clayton said.

“When I went to a gas station, I had a conversation with a local. She was grateful that the storm wasn’t as powerful as Katrina,” Clayton said of Hurricane Ike.

Looking back on the trip, many believed they had a major impact on the town and the people they met.

“It is very rewarding work,” Deranek said. “There is nothing better in the world than to help those in need.”