Remembering Katrina

August 29, 2006 — One year ago today, Hurricane Katrina battered Louisiana and Mississippi, putting New Orleans under twenty feet of water. Katrina cut a path of devastation from New Orleans to Biloxi, Mississippi with 155 mph winds literally ripping buildings from their foundations, flattening everything in sight. To make matters worse, just when the hurricane force winds died down, the levees holding back Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans failed — pouring more than 250 billion gallons of water into the city.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers were among the first to respond. Within 24 hours after the levees broke, the Scientology Disaster Relief headquarters was established in nearby Baton Rouge.

In New Orleans, the scene was confusion and chaos. Police, the National Guard and emergency personnel were working 24/7, rescuing survivors from rooftops and trees, in addition to dealing with the looters. Stretched to the breaking point, they were exhausted, apathetic and overwhelmed — some officers even turned in their badges.

Scientology Volunteer Ministers Disaster Response teams provided help to police and National Guard stations and sheriff’s offices throughout Baton Rouge and New Orleans. Applying organizational technology developed by L. Ron Hubbard, from The Scientology Handbook, they provided anything needed by these front lines troops — clean clothes, food and most importantly, assists were given to handle spiritual trauma.

As the Deputy Chief Commander of Field Operations of New Orleans put it, "You all were the cavalry. It was like the wagon trains being surrounded by Indians with no hope. Then you hear that horn from the cavalry and you guys came in. Then all of our despair disappeared because of your presence, your actions, your smiles."

With the officers now able to function, another very real threat emerged — a deadly combination of oil, toxic chemicals and raw sewage. Rescue workers were, day and night, waist deep in it and the first order of business was to protect them. And so medically trained Scientology Volunteer Ministers delivered hundreds of tetanus shots to emergency personnel. But if New Orleans was the "Ground Zero," the outlying areas were equally devastated, with dozens of towns along the coast destroyed by Katrina.

That is when the second, third and fourth wave of Volunteer Ministers were needed, and they arrived from all over the US and from as far away as Europe and South America: over 900 Scientology Volunteer Ministers in all.

And joining the forces were some very famous Scientologists. John Travolta, accompanied by his wife, actress Kelly Preston, personally flew in with a planeload of tetanus shots for the rescue workers and supplies for evacuees. Kirstie Alley drove into town with tons of supplies in a 16-wheeler convoy. Lisa Marie Presley shipped in truck loads of supplies from nearby Memphis. Isaac Hayes, Anne Archer, Leah Remini and Nancy Cartwright came to bolster the morale of emergency workers and evacuees alike, and to help everyone get back on their feet.

Scientology Volunteer Minister teams next took on assessing the damage in outlying areas. Provided police and National Guard escorts, they found entire towns that were without water and food, and they handled this on the spot. Once vital supplies were dispensed, they delivered assists, and used Dianetics techniques to help people overcome the effects of the trauma they had just experienced.

The next tactical action was to get the shelters properly organized to cope with the 270,000 evacuees. Hundreds of Scientology Volunteer Ministers did just that, putting order into the confusion with organizing boards, assigning duties so that the basic services of three meals per day, clean clothes, showers and a place to sleep were provided. Then with basic needs under control, they went to work helping people overcome the emotional and spiritual trauma of the incident.

With their reputation for fast and effective action, calls for assistance from shelters all across the region started pouring in. People wanted help and they needed it now. Scientology Volunteer Minister teams were immediately sent to create a safe environment and to deal with the trauma.

So it was from Saint Bernard’s Parish to Gulfport to Biloxi and a dozen locations in between, the "Yellow Shirts," as they came to be known — working alongside the National Guard, police and Red Cross — brought order into the scene. In just 10 days the Scientology Volunteer Ministers personally helped over 70,000 people, delivering hundreds of tons of life-saving supplies, reuniting families, and assisting hundreds to find new homes and jobs.

The work of the Scientology Volunteer Minister did not go unnoticed. One letter says it all:

"The one thing that stands out is that the Scientologists are well trained to handle this type of human misery and trauma without drugs, or the intervention of tons of social services. They knew what to do, coordinated well within the community, were self-sufficient, certain in their actions and got the job done.

"All of us in Vermilion Parish now know that when a 'Yellow Shirt' arrives we can count on them to bring control and understanding to a situation.

"And we now all know that no matter what happens SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT!"