FUN IN THE RAIN. Demond, 6, and his big sister Diamond, 9, have fun on the wet streets of Park Lake Homes last week. They are the children of Mikelle and Caleb Williams, who left their New Orleans home after the two hurricanes that devastated their city. Photo by Matthew E. Durham.

'I had to get out,' says Katrina survivor here

By Rebekah Schilperoort

On the last leg of a 3,000 mile, four-day bus ride to Seattle from Baton Rouge, Louis. Washington Thomas marveled at the unfamiliar mountain passes and Pacific Northwest landscapes along the way. Most of the time, though, she contemplated how she would start over in Seattle after losing nearly everything when Hurricane Katrina struck New Orleans last August and put her home in the Lower Ninth Ward under water.

"I had to get out - I wasn't thinking about anything but leaving," she said.

Thomas is the newest addition to a group of nine families living in interim housing at Park Lake Homes in White Center. All of the families have come to Seattle for a new start after having their lives shaken from hurricanes Katrina and Rita that struck the Gulf Coast, leaving devastation in their wake.

Thomas left most of her belongings behind when she evacuated New Orleans before the storm. She headed to Baton Rouge where she stayed with friends, and took only her birth certificate and high school diploma.

After a month in Baton Rouge, Thomas went back to check the damage to her home and look for family members that had been disconnected during the evacuation. She found her home in shambles.

"It's not worth going back to," said Thomas. "It was under water - ruined." Afraid she would bring bacteria with her, Thomas decided not to take anything from her waterlogged home. Pictures, clothes and memorabilia from her 38 years in New Orleans were left behind to be part of the looming demolition in the badly damaged Ninth Ward.

Eventually, Thomas found that her family members were OK, though scattered in cities across southern states. She took a job gutting the library in Jefferson Parish, but soon left the city.

"I wouldn't go back to stay for the world - it's a disaster," she said. "(The city) is built in water, it's surrounded. They can build that levy as much as they want, but it's gonna crumble. It'll never be the same."

Thomas returned to Baton Rouge but couldn't find permanent work. Now, in Seattle, nearly five months after the devastation, Thomas has not registered with the Federal Emergency Management Agency for government assistance. Her focus is on finding a job.

In New Orleans, Thomas worked in construction; here she may settle for the first job she can find.

It's tough to be in an unknown place, and not know the streets or how to get around, she said. But, still, she is thankful to be out of New Orleans.

"I was scared, for real," she said. "It's a fast life. The life you live down there ain't easy. You see some of the worst things you've ever seen in your life. You see killings in your face. Right out your front door. Make you go back in your house and stay there. Just make sure you take the right path home. People will hurt you for a quarter. Even if you don't have any money, if they think you might, they'll hurt ya."

Like so many affected by the hurricane, Thomas is more resilient than she thought. She plans to take her fear and loss and turn it into a better way of life.

"This has made me realize that God is giving me a second chance," she said. "I realize how important life is now, and I cherish this life right now."

Park Lake has also become home for Mikelle Williams and her family since leaving New Orleans almost two months ago. The housing has undergone "minor improvements" and contributions in the thousands from local businesses, schools and churches have helped to furnish the homes. The housing is slated to be demolished in September to make way for Greenbridge, a new housing development and no families currently on the King County Public Housing waiting list were bumped, said Rhonda Rosenburg with the King County Housing Authority.

Williams, 28 and a native of New Orleans, and her husband, Caleb, 25, have already begun a new life in Seattle with their daughter, Diamond, 9, and son, Demond, 6.

Williams now makes $100 a week collecting unemployment compared to the $600 a week she was making in New Orleans as an administrative assistant. Caleb just finished six years with the U.S. Military and plans to apply for a position with the Seattle Police Department.

The adjustment has been tough, said Williams, but fears it has been even harder for her children.

"I think they are finally settled," she said. Both attend White Center Heights Elementary School.

"The school has been outstanding," she said. "My kids sort of get thrown into the gumbo pot in such a diverse school. People are really nice here, but it seems to take a little longer for them to warm up than it does in the South where southern hospitality is way of life."

But she doesn't think that southern style resonates with everyone in New Orleans and is not reason enough to go back.

"There is nothing to go back to," she said. "They're desperate and starving for an economy."

The family left New Orleans the night before the storm. Williams tried to get her grandmother to leave with them. She refused. She had been through Hurricane Betsy in 1965, and thought she could ride out the storm, said Williams.

Four days after Katrina struck, she was rescued from her flooded home and taken to a shelter, confused and disoriented from stress.

Williams' own home in Algiers, a neighborhood that largely escaped flooding, had been badly damaged from a fallen tree. Much of her furniture was destroyed from rain and mold, but they were able to salvage some clothes and pictures.

Cities near New Orleans were overrun with hurricane evacuees and employment opportunities were scarce. Caleb was born in Tacoma, so coming to the Pacific Northwest was always on the table, she said.

Though Williams has many fond memories of her home town, she is unsure whether it should be rebuilt with the same leadership.

"In a new state - a new realm, maybe," she said. "Not in the same way it has been. Without the corruption."

In the meantime, Williams said she and her family are finding peace with the event that has taken their lives to the other side of the country to an unfamiliar city and people.

"Praying together has been a big source of letting stuff go and gaining acceptance and encouragement," she said. "The Christian definition of Katrina is 'cleansing,' I see this as a breakthrough to start anew. We've been making it on faith. This experience makes me aspire to do the best I can."

Rebekah Schilperoort can be reached at rebekah@robinsonnews.com