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Ron Jackson's Perspective
The Sunday Journal -
Think
Kankakee, Illinois
January 1, 2006
5-generation family
battles to recover
from Hurricane Katrina |
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It's that time again.
After recovering from the New Year's Eve celebrations, now it's time
to resolve to do things differently this year. Or maybe not.
Completing your education, eliminating your debt,
reducing your weight, stopping smoking, and volunteering more are
usually the most common resolutions. Whatever yours may be,
good luck.
After meeting a very unique family, I have resolved to
rethink making my resolution for 2006.
The Outlaw family is composed of five generations from
ages 84 to two. All five generations were in town for the
Christmas holiday. The first three generations have been here
since late August, since they were displaced from New Orleans by
Hurricane Katrina.
As former residents of Kankakee, this was the most
obvious choice to relocate after they lost everything. Looking
back on 2005, it would be quite understandable if the family was
bitter. It has not been easy to start all over. Ms. E.
(Ethel Outlaw), the obvious pillar of the family, her brother, and
their mother have been trying to find suitable housing while dealing
with FEMA bureaucracy. The family is on the list to receive
one of the trailers that FEMA has sitting somewhere near New
Orleans. When and if that comes to fruition, the family hopes
to return to their hometown. The most trying part has been
trying to produce paperwork for FEMA when all their personal
documents were lost in the floodwaters of New Orleans.
Still, the family remains strong. As Ms. E. said
while looking around at her mother, brother, daughter,
granddaughter, and two great-granddaughters, "We lost a lot, but we
didn't lose everything. I have my family, and that is
everything to me."
The family is thankful for the support they received
from the community, churches, social agencies, and individuals.
Her daughter and her son-in-law have returned to New
Orleans to rebuild. Her granddaughter and two
great-granddaughters live in Wisconsin. After the holidays it
will be just Ms. E., her brother, and their mother left in Kankakee.
Because she is wheelchair-bound, her mobility is limited, and all
business arrangements must be done by telephone. It is not
easy doing it that way with most businesses using recorded messages
instead of humans. Then again, nothing has been easy for them
since Katrina.
When asked what her resolution was for the New Year,
she surprised me. I expected her to say a great big house with
a ramp to accommodate her malfunctioning wheelchair or a one-way
flight back to New Orleans, but she said neither.
Fighting back tears, Ms. E. said, "For New Year's all I
want is to be able to take care of my mother, myself, my kids, and
my grandkids."
With her determination, there is no doubt she will meet
that objective.
I think my New Year's resolution will be to try to
capture the spirit of Ms. E. Outlaw. |
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