GulfPiper's blog: "New Orleans"

There's an area on the border of the French Quarter and "The Bywater" known to the homeless as "The Wall". Anyone in New Orleans who has extra meals knows to bring them down to The Wall at 7 pm each evening to feed the homeless. I'm at The Wall usually on Thurs through Sunday nights serving the homeless and offering what ever advise I can give them (as well as handing out cigarettes as a hook to bring them to me). The Wall is usually a safe place for them to come and eat without being hassled by NOLA PD. What we are doing is illegal and we can be arrested for it. It doesn't matter that BB & Sam are NOLA PD they know they can be arrested too by supporting this feeding operation. So does Sam's Mom & Dad, Sisters and Nephews. But his entire family shows up night after night along with a few neighbors and some local preachers. They are an inspiration to me. Tonight was cute as a Priest was walking around with a squirt gun full of Holy Water squirting EVERYONE! Afterward Sam and I went around in his patrol car checking under the bridges around New Orleans taking a head count and then got a call to move the homeless out from behind the "World Trade Center" on the Mississippi River. Just a handful there but they cooperated and I gave them a few tips how to survive on the streets of New Orleans as they just arrived from Florida looking for work. Funny thing is... we have a couple of shelters for males down here but very few if any for females (unless there are children involved). Go figure? I asked Sam why and he said allot of the female shelters lost their funding after the storms for "non-homeless" families pre-Katrina. Hmmm... I'm going to have to start to make some phone calls to find out why?

It's been quite sometime since I've been able to find time to write on this blog. But since I got laid off from work this week I've had time to dust off the old resume and keep myself busy during the day doing some additional volunteer work around town. One of my favorite things to do is to help Officers "BB St. Roman and Sam Scaffidi" Of the New Orleans police Department Homeless Assistance Unit. I've been working all week with them visiting clients and following up on a few success stories. The following is one such story; Last summer an elderly gentleman by the name of Chris lived at the Wedding Chapel with me. Then one day I woke up and Chris was gone! I asked all around the Quarter what happened to Chris? No one knew. Later that summer I ran into Chris up on North Rampart and discovered he was homeless and sleeping in an alley. I checked him into the Days Inn for a night to shower and wash his clothes. I then told him to meet each Friday at 5pm on a certain corner. Each week I gave him 7 meals (ready to eat) to get him through the week and $40 to $60 bucks (what ever I could afford). Chris wasn't on drugs nor an alcoholic, in fact he didn't drink at all. In high school he had the highest SAT score in the country. The City was so thrilled they held a testimonial dinner in his honor and the Mayor of New Orleans gave him the key to the City. He went on to teach at Loyola University until he was drafted and became a decorated Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War. He served for ten years. When he returned to the states he moved into his brothers home in Tennessee for 2 1/2 years. He then returned to New Orleans and since then has been homeless. That was 22 years ago. No one knows what happened to him in Tennessee, but something happened to this brilliant mind. So anyway I was helping Chris out as best as I could until one day HE WAS GONE and I never saw him again. I figured the crack heads finally took him out. Two days BB, Sam and I were visiting clients and BB promised one client in the lower ninth she would stop by with new mini blinds for his kitchen window. We pulled up to this beautiful duplex which was completely renovated and I knocked on the door to install the blinds for him. Guess who answered? Chris! I has so happy to see him the tears were streaming down my face as Chris and I hugged. BB said you guys know each other? And we both laughed. Through the "road home program" she got Chris free rent vouchers, she contacted the Air Force and got his pension checks issued to her in her name on his behalf, the same with his social security checks and she opened a savings account for him. Each week she gives him $200 spending money for groceries and she pays his utilities out of his savings account, she takes him to the Walmat for clothes and dresses him properly and takes him grocery shopping. He was clean, healthy and in great spirits. So it turned out to be a very happy day for me. This afternoon I went over to clean out the transport van I said "BB" this van needs a thorough cleaning it's filthy. So Icleaned and waxed it from top to bottom for her. I envy BB and Sam, they have jobs they love to wake up to each day and are dedicated to their craft.