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| Waiting: Ellen and Chuck Breath of Bay St. Louis, Miss., who lost their home to Katrina, don't yet have the information they need to
start rebuilding. Mary Knox Merrill – Staff  Rebuilding hope in the Gulf |
As recovery lags in Gulf, spirits sag, too
In pockets of Mississippi's coast, Katrina survivors battle the foe of despair.
from the July 10, 2007 edition
Page 4 of 4
Checks mailed to some households
Still, the first 96 checks for Phase II of the Mississippi recovery effort were mailed last month, part of a multimillion-dollar aid package for at least 7,000 low-lying households, including some in Pearlington, that had no storm insurance – allowing up to $130,000 per family to rebuild to the new elevations.
"[Recovery] is never soon enough," says Donna Sanford, recovery director for the Mississippi Development Authority in Jackson. "This is a problem we've never dealt with before, so there's no road map for us to follow."
One way that townspeople have bucked up their flagging spirits is by returning some of the outpouring of charity that flooded Pearlington after the surge receded. When a tornado flattened a Kansas town this spring, people here scraped together enough blankets, clothes, and toothpaste to fill a 53-foot trailer.
They knew exactly what the Kansans would need after the storm.
How to help
Mountains to Mississippi
A charity based in Carbondale, Colo., it has raised $300,000 to help specifically in Pearlington. Contact: www.pearlingtonproject.com
Pearlington Recovery Center
It accepts donations, offers of volunteer labor, and construction materials. Contact: 6098 1st St., Pearlington, MS 39572, (228) 533-0101
Salvation Army
It provides direct aid to residents on the Gulf Coast. Contact: The Salvation Army, Hurricane Relief Fund, P.O. Box 630243, Baltimore, MD 21263-0243
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