Wednesday, November 16, 2005

NP Times / Leaving Everything Behind

NP Times / Leaving Everything Behind: "November 1, 2005
Leaving Everything Behind
VOA chapter learns to operate across state lines

By Alan Naditz

When Jim LeBlanc, president of the Volunteers of America’s Greater New Orleans affiliate, first heard about Hurricane Katrina heading toward the city, he thought he had things covered. This was, after all, another exercise in what’s become an annual ritual: break out the disaster response plan and get to work preparing residents for evacuation.

“For the past three or four years during hurricane season we’ve had to evacuate people from our communities once or twice a year,” LeBlanc said. “We know the drill: We hire several Greyhound buses, pack several days of clothing for each person and make hotel reservations. We know we’ll be back in a few days after the storm’s over.”"

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