Running buddy, Gulf Coast surfer and fellow Rhomboid extraordinaire spent a day volunteering at the George R. Brown Convention Center. Here are some excerpts from his email report (with his permission, of course):

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How was George R. Brown?

Very interesting. And rewarding. It’s certainly worth the experience in case anyone else is thinking of doing it. In fact, I got another email last night saying they got more evacuees in the GRB and need more volunteers for today and tommorrow.

Operation Compassion is an umbrella org. for a large contingency of inner-faith groups that have been assigned to coordinate feeding and serving of displaced persons at the GRB. The training last Sunday was at 2nd Baptist, hence all the references, but it was there b/c its so dang big and could accomodate the most people. And there were thousands at the training with overflow into the gym, sanctuary, nursery and dining hall. The crowd was the typical mixture of Houston peoples, probably including even some Wiccans (just in case that excites anyone out there). That said, the training wasnt really helpful but is supposedly mandatory.

Anway, my assignment, which came by email, was for yesterday– 4-10 pm shift. I got there around 3 and parked for free on the south side of the GRB (they have lots designated for volunteers).

As soon as I arrived at the check-in desk, they keenly recognized my managerial/organizational skills and sent me off to supervize. I handled not a piece of food except for what I stuck in my own mouth (red beans and rice + a salad). I did handle babies though. And basically spent the day telling people where to go and what to do, eventhough I had no clue. No clue. Perhaps they sensed a lack of knowledge would not slow me down?

It’s a remarkable sight in there. The convention center is of course spacious and even cavernous. It sort of reminded me of what the belly of an aircraft carrier might be like, a small self-contained city. The first two things I noticed inside were the sense of calm and the cold air. It’s sedate, relaxed, safe and chilly. Its divided into zones and floors, with the largest part for piles of inflatable mattresses, which are sectioned off into zones, presumedly divided by individual situation. The actual head count varied depending on your source but clearly there are thousands of people. They told me some were being processed and sent out to more permanent housing as new evacuees were still arriving.

Besides all the beds, showers and the food court (3rd floor), there were phone banks (free calls to anywhere), computer banks, family location services, HISD enrollment booths, a well-staffed health clinic, free transportation to Reliant (some families are split b/w there and the Dome), a giant donated clothing supply area, an LA shot records booth, hygeine kits, meeting rooms, FEMA and Red Cross intake and even a very busy beauty shop.

This may sound weird but it was somewhat serene. There were kids playing. People getting all the various forms of help. It is neither chaotic, dirty, smelly, nor unorganized.

There arent many HPDs there but there is large presence of Natl Guardsmen in uniform who are not armed but nonetheless add to the overall perception of order and security. Mostly they just sit around at strategic locations.

But, by far, the most interesting part was talking to the evacuaees and hearing their stories. Some of which were amazing. For ex, one guy I ate with was trapped in the attic of his house as the water was rising. The way he described the sound of the carpet popping loose, the freezer floating past and how the wind howl “sounded like a monster” left quite the impression. He got out by stick his arm out the attic vent and waving it at a guy in a boat. One of the ladies whose baby I toted escaped in a single car with 17 other people inside. Another family (including little kids) told me how they floated away on their backyard deck pushing themslves along with a 15′ pole that didnt touch bottom. Then they spent two days on top of a levee with ~ 800 people with little water.

Anyway, to force myself to stop, I originally I thought I would be better at the food bank, moving boxes and cans, but now I am glad I went to the Brown for the direct human interaction, which made it all the more meaningful and rewarding.

FWIW, I did not witness any proslitizing.

best, JPP

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