[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n
I<\/strong><\/span>nteract of Royal Oak has been to New Orleans before–actually, with some regularity–to assist others in re-assembling their lives following Hurricanes Katrina, Ike, and Isaac. Seventeen major storms and hurricanes have hit the area since Katrina and–despite the media–it wasn\u2019t the worst of them for all of the residents there.<\/span><\/p>\n Even a tropical depression or a Category 1 or 2 hurricane like Isaac can hover over the metro area and flood the region for weeks. Some might argue that this is the very danger of living in a region like NOLA where the Mississippi delta overflows its banks too easily. And while this is true to a degree, my brief experiences there show two other stories: that the corruption of different institutions often expands the suffering of those who live there, and that the residents we meet are hard-living, wholesomely honest, and grateful.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.105″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2015\/12\/altfeb2008.jpg” \/][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.105″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2015\/12\/altfeb2012.jpg” \/][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.0.105″ show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” force_fullwidth=”off” show_bottom_space=”on” src=”https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2015\/11\/altfeb2014.jpg” \/][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_layout=”light”]<\/p>\n Twice we\u2019ve met lower 9th Ward Katrina survivor<\/span> Robert Green<\/span><\/a> who still works there to assist residents in finding homes. We\u2019ve met elderly homeowners struggling to live in the homes of their youth but unable to repair them. We\u2019ve met couples cheated out of their life insurance and home insurance. We\u2019ve met families whose homes had quite literally floated out to sea, a fire chief who hijacked an ice truck to help his neighborhood, and real estate speculators looking to profit over all of them.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n When the 80 Royal Oak students travel this week to NOLA, we do not know who we will meet, but I know their stories will be powerful. What does it require to survive 17 storms in the last 12 years? 21 in the last 20? I hope once again for us to learn from them, to gain some perspective, to help where we can.<\/span><\/p>\n I say often enough that what we do on these trips can never be replicated in a classroom, and I know that does not say half of what I mean. There is the kind of service that raises pennies for a cause, and there is the kind which builds with one\u2019s own hands, which tests the limits of many of us. Even before our bus departs in a few hours, I can say that I am proud of them.<\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.0.105″ show_divider=”on” color=”#0c71c3″ divider_weight=”2″ \/][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_2″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.0.105″ background_color=”rgba(224,153,0,0.11)” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”center” custom_padding=”15px|15px|15px|15px” border_radii=”on|15px|15px|15px|15px” border_width_all=”1px” border_color_all=”#0c71c3″ box_shadow_style=”preset1″]<\/p>\n Expect to hear from us through the week. We\u2019re on social media using the hashtag #AltFeb and <\/span><\/i>the students will blog Monday through Thursday<\/span><\/i><\/a>. \u00a0Find us, too, at <\/span><\/i>https:\/\/tinyurl.com\/roaltfeb<\/span><\/i><\/a>. <\/span><\/i><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What does it require to survive 17 storms in the last 12 years? 21 in the last 20? I hope once again for us to learn from them, to gain some perspective, to help where we can.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[91,108],"tags":[8,95,13],"class_list":["post-8339","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-altfeb","category-nola18","tag-altfeb","tag-nola","tag-relief"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2017\/04\/djtroygroup1-e1440639215416.jpg?fit=864%2C522&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ljKt-2av","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8339","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8339"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8339\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8343,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8339\/revisions\/8343"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chisnell.com\/interact\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}