We were originally supposed to stay in Mississippi in a town about 50 minutes away from our Vicksburg Campus. That changed to us travling around Mississippi. We would be working with Red Cross helping with fire awareness, setting up smoke alarms, etc. We were to deploy on Tuesday and we would be quite close to the ocean. Monday, we were told that we had to pack our things and leave immediatly for the disaster in Texas. Within 3 hours we were in our van off to Austin, Texas.
Austin was absolutely beautiful. We didn't get to see too much of it due to us being shipped straight from Austin to Houston. Our FEMA POC (point of contact) told us he didn't want us stuck in an office working, he wanted us out in the field. So in Houston, we got to do just that.
Here in Houston we are working with the American Red Cross. We are on 12 hour shifts down in a warehouse. We load and unload trucks full of supplies like clean-up kits, comfort kits, food, water, snacks, diapers, gloves, wipes, etc, etc. We also get to, sometimes, deliver these supplies as well. On one day, I was able to go door to door offering clean-up kits to different home-owners. One man, when he came to the door, was holding photographs in his hand. You could tell he was very destraught, and at first, told us no thank you to the clean-up kit. But after a moment, he told us he would like one. He told us he was currently trying to salvage photographs in his home...
On Sunday, I was able to go in an ERV (basically a Red Cross ambulance full of food). We went down a neighborhood honking our horn and speaking through a speaker announcing that we had food and drinks. It felt almost as if we were an ice cream truck. Many, many people came to us. Most of them did not speak English, so communication was a bit tricky. They were either of hispanic descent or Asian. One lady was using a walker, so I helped carry food into her garage. She looked upset and she told me that her power was off and that she was "off". You could tell she was very scared and unsure. I wished I could've done more to help her. I asked if there was anything more we could do, but she said no. She was very grateful for the little help we could offer. Almost everyone we spoke to was.
In a county outside of Houston there are homes still underwater. Roadways that looks like a river. People are having to use boats to travel, or are having to swim. On top of this, Dallas had to open some of it's flood gates, sending water to this community that's still underwater. Now, on top of all of this, a tropical storm has touched land today. Tomorrow is when it is expected to hit Houston. Prayers for this would be appreciated.
All in all, I am absolutely loving this work! I can't imagine this work being any better! I love the people I am working for and they have been very kind to me in return. I have been given an amazing oppertunity to really help people. As I like to say, I'm not here to change the world, I just want to help one person at a time. And with this oppertunity with Red Cross, I have been given that chance to help.
Last thing, this weekend, we will either be staying in Houston for a few more weeks, or will be headed back to Austin to go to a FEMA JFO (Joint Field Office) where we would be working in our specialty roles. For me, that would mean Logistics, which means I would be helping set up shelters, that sort of thing. Some of the other specialty roles are things like damage assessment, helping set people up for FEMA money, office work, people work, that boring-I mean fun- type of stuff. 
<----- An ERV