Guest post by Siobhan Reid, Communications Student
After a day spent meeting residents, distributing supplies and providing information to the people of High River, I began to observe trends in the community’s need assessments. From duct tape to dumpster bins, my team compiled a list of items in high-demand.
I was taken aback to meet one High River resident, Ben Paul Smith, who (when asked about his immediate individual needs), responded with a, “nothing for now ya’ll.” As I scanned his property, I sensed Ben’s story would be different. Despite the people being covered in mud, everyone was smiling, upbeat southern country music played in the background, and people laughed as they lifted wet furniture from the home.
I learned that Ben had moved to High River from New Orleans two years ago, where his home had been flooded during Hurricane Katrina. Despite his bad luck, Ben feels grateful that the southern Alberta disaster response has been so well facilitated. “[Hurricane] Katrina was bad, a thousand times worse than this—Red Cross would know that. Never thought I’d live to be in another of these,” he laughs, as he stands in front of his flood-damaged home, up to his elbows in dirt.
Ben explained that once he made progress on his home’s cleanup, he’d offer support to his neighbours— one of whom has stayed at the shelter in Blackie since the flood. While not everyone in High River is as fortunate as Ben, who owns a home renovation company and was able to get the equipment he needed quickly, Ben says southern Alberta is making fast progress.
“In Katrina, the situation was terrible, the looting was terrible, and I couldn’t return to my home for nearly two months,” says Ben. “I’m amazed at how organized everything has been here. This is neighbours-helping-neighbours, this is good stuff.”