| HAART HIV/AIDS Alliance for Region Two, Inc. 4550 North Blvd., Suite 250 Baton Rouge, LA 70806 (225) 927-1269 - phone (225) 927-7367 - fax Reach us toll-free at (888) 647-1269 |
| Updated as of September 7, 2008 Copyright 2008 HAART, Inc., Baton Rouge, Louisiana |
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| CONTRIBUTE TO THE GUSTAV RELIEF FUND! If you would like to donate specific items, we are most in need of the following: Ice Ice chests Nonperishable food items &/or coupons/gift certificates for food Diapers & baby wipes Baby formula Personal Hygiene items |
| GUSTAV RECOVERY LINKS: Below are links and important information for getting what you need: |
| Gustav - Part Three: Our partners coming back! Saturday, September 6, 2008 -- 2:49 PM CDST - Baton Rouge, LA Oh.....my aching ears! After four days of the rattle of generators, now it's the roar of chain saws as crews and contractors fell the remnants of once-prized shade-makers, and neighbors break out the power equipment to clean their yards of debris. At least I got a good night's sleep now that power at my home was restored yesterday - after 96 hours. But they're not backing off of the "21 days" estimate for some neighborhoods. We're hoping for power at our offices as soon as possible but have the loan of at least one mobile clinic confirmed for Monday patient appointments, and are working on getting a second. Much thanks to Executive Director Noel Twilbeck at NO/AIDS Task Force in New Orleans for their assistance with the mobile unit that was donated to them after Hurricane Katrina by The Elizabeth Taylor AIDS Foundation. Thanks again to both organizations! And New Orleans' Food for Friends is providing us with prepared meals for client distribution and more after we identify additional freezer/refrigeration capacity. We're posting on this site other needs as well: diapers, baby wipes, fast-food gift cards for a quick reliable meal, non-refrigerated food items (tuna, crackers, peanut butter, etc.), ice chests (preferably with ice), and more - please check the list. I'm very proud of our incredible staff. Case managers each took emergency contact information for their clients with them and have been in touch with most. Many have power returning to their homes, but still have food and ice needs. I was just on the phone with a client who said the grocery store nearest his home finally re-opened yesterday. He was able to get eggs and cheese, but no bread or milk. Those are in tough supply. It all depends on your access to transportation in a lot of cases; something may of our clients lack. I'm not even sure what's happening with the bus system. The website hasn't been updated. We were glad to hear from St. Anthony's House, an assisted living facility for AIDS patients operated by Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center They're back operating after a loss of power and the residents are okay. Family Service of Greater Baton Rouge was back operating on Thursday with some staff still out. Metro Health has been in contact with a number of clients. They've requested temporary space with us if we get power first. We had recently acquired additional space in our building which we hadn't occupied yet. I'm sure that Metro won't mind the missing baseboards! The tireless staff at the city's Office of Community Development were back at their desks, or somewhere, before the week was out checking on the status of our programs and staff; getting updates on the operational status of the various agencies. We haven't been in touch yet with the HIV/AIDS Program at the Office of Public Health, but they've been carrying water for us in Baton Rouge for so long that we know we have their support. For those of you unfamiliar, Louisiana operates a system of regional public hospitals that serve (mostly) uninsured residents and is operated by the Health Care Services Division of the Louisiana State University system. According to a source there, Earl K. Long Medical Center ( the hospital here in Baton Rouge) has "major problems with power" and it "might be weeks to get the parts needed to power up...." South of Baton Rouge in Houma, Leonard J. Chaubert Medical Center "will be down for months" and "ER and some clinics are in a tent". No, it wasn't Katrina or even Rita, but south Louisiana has a loooooong way to go! I've gotta get something to eat now. More soon! But don' forget! If you can, volunteer to help or donate to our Gustav client relief fund. If you can't, please just keep our clients in your prayers. Tim Young Executive Director Next: Gustav - Part Four: I DON'T Like Ike! Gustav - Part Two: What a Difference a Day Makes..........or Two! September 5, 2008 -- 9:49 PM CDST - Baton Rouge, LA First the corrections. There has in fact been serious flooding for some to contend with, but mostly isolated. One of our newest case managers lost everything when her home took on five feet of water. We've offered to assist Crystal and her family with temporary lodging and recovery assistance so that she can be stable while she continues to help us meet client needs. And no, probably not months for electrical power recovery; just several weeks! Although that's indeed what they were saying at my last writing two and a half days ago. And it could very well mean months for some of our most rural clients. Here in the middle of Baton Rouge, an older and still popular middle class neighborhood (Broadmoor) is being told "21 days" before all power is restored. "A major American (state capitol) city................." But still, it could be A LOT WORSE! Still no power in our offices. An Entergy foreman told our building owner "Monday at the earliest". That would be a full week after landfall. And our office building is across the street from an electrical substation that serves a major hospital in the mid-city area! Special thanks also to NO/AIDS Task Force for the loan of their mobile clinic. They will set it up in our parking lot on Sunday and we can see scheduled patients on Monday, even without building power. Kelly, our EIS social worker, was perhaps the luckiest of our staff members. A new mom since January, her family seems to have experienced the shortest power outage of all of our staff -- about 6 hours. Not that she's without challenges. Family from a few blocks over have moved in because they won't have power for several more weeks. I was just on the phone with Kelly. She called me on the way back from the grocery store - in Lafayette! That's 60 miles west of Baton Rouge on Interstate 10. She could only find expired baby food here. The one hour trip there and back was well worth it she said. A shorter time spent than trying to wait in line at several places here to only get some of what they needed. Our staffing supervisor, Stephanie, had to evacuate to Houston with an ailing father who could no longer endure the insufferable heat of south Louisiana without air conditioning. Someone asked the question, "what did we do before air conditioning?" The answer simple: "we were a lot less productive!" All this to say that the challenges we face as an organization are still daunting, even with our extensive resources. Our clients are at the mercy of whatever wind blows their way. But before I start sounding too negative, let me say that things are improving by the day. FEMA seems to be swinging into action in more direct ways to assist impacted individuals and families. They have been providing ice, roof tarps and MRE's (meal ready to eat) at PODS (points of distribution sites). Although those supplies are sought after by very, very many and are rapidly exhausted. And I have to hand it to our state and local government. They, like our citizens, have been stunned by the severity of the storm over a wide area and took a little while to organize a response. But certainly not the weeks-kind-of-while that it took to respond to Katrina. My hat is off to Mayor "Kip" Holden and Governor "Bobby" Jindal. More soon on our situation. But don' forget! If you can, volunteer to help or donate to our Gustav client relief fund. If you can't, please just keep our clients in your prayers. Tim Young Executive Director Next: Gustav - Part Three: Our partners coming back! An Open Letter from the Executive Director... Survivors All - Compared to AIDS, Gustav was a "breeze"! September 3, 2008 -- 1:39 PM CDST Baton Rouge has been paralyzed by this hurricane. At this writing, two days after landfall, most of this city of half-a-million people is without electrical power -- and for some it may not be restored for weeks, possibly months! Driving back across the huge unlit Mississippi River bridge last night was an eerie feeling. From the top, looking out over the horizon, Baton Rouge was "Katrina-dark". It was the same dreadful feeling I experienced three years ago after seeing New Orleans at night for the first time, weeks after its devastation. And in the daylight, the look is similar as well. Denuded vegetation all over the city; trees down in block after block after block - some even managing to miss homes, cars and businesses as they crashed down. No, no serious flooding to contend with. But nary a person or home has been unaffected. PLWHA in Baton Rouge are side by side with their fellow citizens - in the dark, running low on food, in line for gas and ice. The lucky ones have generators; the unlucky ones damaged homes. One client, a former chair of this organization, has a tree on his roof -- loyal family and friends are already there removing what they can. Lots of trees on lots of roofs. NOBODY has power. Another client appeared at our office today, in tears and looking for her social worker, as I was discussing the power situation with the owner of our office building. No power in her home for her four children and 10-month old grandchild, and running out of food. I was only able to help her charge her cell phone with the small generator we have operating, but got a grateful hug in return. As soon as we are able to respond, we'll get her ice and food. Newly diagnosed, she doesn't yet understand she won't die soon and is over-anxious about getting her blood work and meds. As soon as our staff can get back to work, we'll get her additional help and some counseling. Our staff members are equally as challenged. I'm lucky myself. The tree that came down in my yard is blocking the driveway, but thankfully missed the house. The roof and fence damage from the wind is minor. Another staffer, only three weeks new with our agency, reports that she "lost everything". We're trying to mobilize help for her family. Dr. "Mike" lost a HUGE tree in his front yard, but it politely landed across his and the neighbors’ front yards, missing houses and cars. One of our board members says "it was the scariest thing I've ever been through". Baton Rouge has the fourth highest AIDS case rate in the country. The demand for our services far exceeds our ability to meet it, even in the best of times. HAART is the largest funded provider of Ryan White assistance in the Baton Rouge metro area. Our clinic, only a year old, is seeing about 15 newly diagnosed patients each month. Our staff contacted all of our clients before the storm to ensure they had a minimum 10-day supply of medications. We're survivors, or we wouldn't be in this business! We're committed to the continued health of our clients and to the recovery of our city. What can you do? Donate your time to volunteer if you're local and can do that. Donate money if you want to help but can't be here to help care for children while parents seek food and other essentials. We'll use funds to help pay for food first - lots of spoilage due to loss of refrigeration. And we'll use the rest to pay for other client needs as they present. As soon as we're able to, we'll post our 2007 financial audit and tax return on this site so that you can verify for yourself that we'll be good stewards of your kindness. Our clients probably need your help, even if we're still trying to reach them and determine their status and needs. If you can, donate to our Gustav relief fund. If you can't, just please keep us in your prayers. The worst is over, and now it's time for our best! Sincerely, "Tim" Young Executive Director PS - Phones in our office are down until further notice - they use electricity. But I have a land line working at home (225-753-8670) and occasional use of my cell phone (225-266-1030). Texting seems to be more reliable than calling for now, although it's not immediate like normal usage. They come in several at a time, an hour or more after they're sent, so be patient and we'll get back to you asap. Thanks! |
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