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Volunteer Housing Center opens its door in Moss Bluff
BY SARAH YOKUBAITIS AMERICAN PRESS
The Southwest Louisiana Volunteer Housing Center opened its doors
Thursday with a grand-opening ceremony. The center can provide shelter for
as many as 200 volunteers — a resource sorely lacking in the Lake Area’s
hurricane recovery efforts.
“From the day Hurricane Rita struck nearly 10 months ago, generous offers of
volunteer support have poured into Southwest Louisiana,” said Allen McCall,
chairman of the United Way of Southwest Louisiana board of directors.
“But up to now, we have been unable to capitalize on this tremendous labor
supply potential because we did not have a place to house the volunteers.”
Mayor Randy Roach called the center “the foundation of the community’s
support for volunteers ... the base for volunteer activities that will be going on
for weeks and months.”
The center, which is supported by $70,000 from the United Way Hurricane
Fund and donations from the community, is located in the old Moss Bluff
Middle School.
“We had a concern as to exactly what to do with this building,” said Wayne
Savoy, Calcasieu Parish school superintendent. “A school is built by the school
community. Why not continue the tradition? It’s our way of saying thank you to
the community.”
Under the supervision of Bille Jean Bauer and her organization, Partners in
Prayer and Service, volunteers began transforming the vandalized and
decrepit building around Memorial Day.
Roughly 6,000 manhours later, the old abandoned school had a new lease on
life with freshly painted walls, new carpeting, repaired windows, a working air
conditioner, 100 bunk beds and a fully furnished kitchen.
“You talk about a miracle, this is a miracle. Everybody that worked to get this
the way it is, we appreciate it,” said Calcasieu Parish Police Juror Don Manuel.
“It’s such a wonderful addition,” said Sallye LeBleu of the Calcasieu Women’s
Shelter. “In so many places they had to turn away volunteers. People who want
to help now have a place to stay that is safe and secure — and air
conditioned!”
The center can provide more than just housing during hurricane cleanup. The
parish Office of Emergency Preparedness plans to use it to accommodate
emergency responders should another hurricane strike the area, McCall said.
“This center was born out of a need following one of the strongest hurricanes
in our nation’s history,” he said. “Now it will become an integral part of our long-
range emergency planning for decades to come.”
Visitors applauded the volunteers’ efforts to renovate the center.
“It is one of the blessings of the hurricane — how this community has pulled
together. I hope when people look back on this time, they think of these types
of projects as a symbol of support of the community that truly believes in itself,”
Roach said.
But for Bauer and the rest of the PIPS volunteers who will staff the center, the
work has just begun.
“I want to get to everyone who is under a blue roof,” Bauer said.
“We have a lot to do. But I think together we can make a difference.”
