Corbin church opens doors to more evacuees

One Corbin church continued its efforts to help victims of Hurricane Katrina recently by accepting more evacuees and by shuttling another truckload of supplies to weather damaged areas.
Susan Elkow, Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Corbin, said seven more evacuees from the towns of Gulfport and Biloxi, Miss. arrived at the church to take advantage of living arrangements church members are providing to those affected by the storm. Elkow said a group of three went down to Gulfport Sept. 20 to take a trailer-load of supplies and to entice victims who had lost home and property to start a new life in Corbin. She said the group took flyers and pictures showing the living quarters the church had to offer.
“It’s just easier to show them what our facility is,” Elkow said. “I think many of them are immediately thinking it will be the same kind of shelter they are in. Down there, it’s just cots line up … just huge big rooms. It’s real communal living. We wanted to show them that it’s a step away from that. It’s not home, but it’s not like the situation they are in either.”
The church welcomed a first wave of evacuees earlier in the month, all but one of whom have moved on to reconnect with family or relocate in other communities. One evacuee remains and has permanent employment with a local company.
Elkow said the current group would likely make the area their permanent home.
“I think most of this group will stay here,” she said. “At this point, they aren’t wanting to go back. The last group had family in other places and they just wanted to get stabilized and move on, but this group doesn’t have that.”
The church took supplies to a mission of the First United Pentecostal Church in Gulfport and worked with the American Red Cross and social workers to get the current group of evacuees.
“It’s absolute misery down there,” Elkow said. “It’s just totally devastated.”
On Monday, church member Mike Phipps left from Corbin with a tractor-trailer full of supplies to make the 15-hour trip to Gulfport again. He said on board were cleaning supplies, baby supplies, candy, water and other necessities. It was the second time he’s been on the haul.
Phipps is an over-the-road truck driver for England Transportation and said the trip is rewarding.
“They really appreciate it. One of the ladies we have at the church now walked eight hours to get to a gallon of water,” he said. “TV just doesn’t do the situation down there justice. The odor is unreal. Until, you’ve been there, you don’t know what it is.”
Phipps said the roadways were fairly clear of debris on his first trip down. A local physician escorted him in. He said he doesn’t expect problems this time around as well.
The church will be sending another trailer load of supplies Friday.
Items for the trip were donated primarily by the Christian Appalachian Project (CAP), some local businesses and by members of the church.
Elkow said the church has formed a seven-member workgroup that plans to work at a mission in southern Mississippi in mid-November.