Katrina Puts Local Man to Test in Biloxi
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Bi-weekly news bulletin of the Catholic Diocese of Erie September 25, 2005 www.ErieRCD.org In Katrina’s wake, Catholic Charities aids those in need By Jason Koshinskie lecting will go to governments or FaithLife editor other agencies. It will go through other Catholic entities in the Gulf In the wake of Hurricane states. It will help evacuees from Katrina, Catholic Charities USA Catholic parishes and people who is on the front lines like other would come to Catholic Charities major human service organiza- in those areas.” tions, serving the needs of vic- To date, 15 agencies have tims across the Gulf Coast states. each received grants ranging After sending $1 million in from $10,000 to $110,000 to help initial grants to affected regions, provide immediate support. Some Catholic Charities USA’s Office of the vital community support of Disaster Response has been may include temporary housing; financially aided by Catholic food, clothing, and other basic Charities offices in dioceses necessities; crisis and grief coun- throughout the United States. seling; and financial assistance. Since Bishop Donald The agencies receiving grants Trautman announced a diocesan- include Catholic Charities of wide collection to aid Katrina New Orleans, La.; Catholic victims, parish, school and indi- Community Services of Baton CNS photo from Reuters vidual donations have totaled Rouge, La.; Catholic Social $334,610.67 as of Sept. 19. Services of Houma-Thibodaux, Fr. Gregory Barras celebrates Mass outside Our damage from Hurricane Katrina. Most sur- The initial grants helped meet La. ; the Diocese of Shreveport, Mother of Sorrrows Church in Biloxi, Miss., Sept. rounding homes and businesses were 11. The church had significant flooding and wind destroyed or damaged by the storm. the immediate emergency needs La.; Catholic Charities, Inc., of of victims including establishing Jackson, Miss.; Catholic Social material goods to the Gulf states, director of development for the roughly 30 local agencies to temporary shelters and supplying and Community Services of it is very difficult to connect such Erie Diocese’s Catholic Charities coordinate efforts in providing food, water, clothing, medical Biloxi, Miss.; Catholic Social goods with those in need right Office. services for evacuees relocating care and prescription drug serv- Services of Mobile, Ala.; now, Maxwell says. “The government is not cur- in Erie. ices. The long-term efforts will Catholic Social Services of “Right now we need to put rently sending people this far be focused on rebuilding the Robertsdale, Ala. our energies into what we can north,” Graham says. “That does- affected cities. On Sept. 12, Catholic send down there monetarily and n’t mean that won’t change. They Hurricane “At the level of the Bishops’ Charities of New Orleans began what needs to be done for any are asking for all our housing Katrina relief Conference and in our concern as distributing 400,000 pounds of evacuees who come into any of stock throughout our 13 counties. Catholic people, our money will food on a daily basis throughout our communities here in the dio- They’re asking us to keep track of Donations should be sent to: be distributed through other the areas affected by Hurricane cese,” she says. what apartments are available Catholic Charities of the Catholic Charities agencies and Katrina. The agency has also dis- Locally, 74 evacuees have that are not rented. They do not Diocese of Erie through other dioceses,” says tributed more than 2.5 million relocated to Erie and are living at want to put people in private 429 E. Grandview Blvd. Mary Maxwell, executive direc- pounds of food out of an empty the Motel 6 on upper Peach homes.” P.O. Box 10397 tor of the Catholic Charities Wal-Mart near Baker, La. Street. Most of the people relo- Acting as a hospitality agent, Erie, PA 16514 Office of the Erie Diocese. Although many would like to cating in Erie have relocated the Catholic Charities Office Attn: Katrina Collection “None of the money we are col- send food and clothing and other themselves, says Rose Graham, hosted a meeting Sept. 9 inviting Dioceses Katrina puts local man to test in Biloxi devastated by By Jason Koshinskie patients to the general medical Center, had only brief and inter- With patients being evacuat- FaithLife editor floor.” mittent contact with her husband ed, Wickham found himself won- The first floor, which houses during the early stages of the hur- dering how he would get himself Katrina Placed in Hurricane the center’s cafeteria and pharma- ricane. And for two days, there back to Erie. Katrina’s path, all Jesse cy, began to flood. The generators was no contact at all. “I was pretty scared as to how (CNS) — While Katrina has Wickham wanted to be was a on the basement floor were flood- “I knew the storm was hit- I’d get back,” he says. “I was sup- destroyed and damaged homes source of strength to the people ed out, and the base was without ting,” Sellitto says. “When I posed to start a new rotation and businesses throughout the who needed him. power. talked to him, he said he was safe. Tuesday. With airports not func- Gulf Coast, it has also devastated Wickham, a fourth-year “Immediately nurses began Then the storm hit. It was a little tional, I didn’t know how I’d get dioceses in Louisiana, medical student at Lake Erie hand-bagging the patients on nerve wracking not being able to back.” Mississippi and Alabama. College of Osteopathic Medicine ventilators,” Wickham says. “We talk to him. Thursday was the last He ended up catching a ride • The Archdiocese of New (LECOM), was in Biloxi, Miss., heard word of roof damage and time I talked to him. I was a little with a fellow resident and his Orleans is planning to establish during Hurricane Katrina. As flooding coming from the fifth scared after he left the base. We family who were driving to satellite elementary and second- part of his Air Force medical floor. They closed that floor, and finally got in touch.” Lancaster, Pa. ary schools in communities scholarship, Wickham must we were basically sandwiched The couple, married in The experience is hard to put where thousands of students complete two clinical clerk shifts between these two floors.” October, are parishioners of into words, he says. have taken refuge. at a medical hospital. His second The two patients he was car- Blessed Sacrament Parish, Erie. “I thank God, really,” he says. • Catholic schools across the month-long shift was scheduled ing for in ICU were stable, but “By the next day, it became “I was in a safer place than a lot nation have opened their doors to at Keesler Air Force Base in everyone at the medical center clear we needed to get everybody of people there. I truly thought of Gulf Coast students displaced by Biloxi beginning Aug. 8. was concerned. out,” Wickham says. myself as blessed, especially after Hurricane Katrina. “That first night there was “We were just trying to make Personnel coordinated a criti- hearing stories of people who lost • More than 20 percent of just a real feeling of anticipation them understand the situation,” cal air transfer team, and patients everything or couldn’t find their churches and one third of schools with everyone being there,” he Wickham says. “Luckily we had were also transferred by ambu- family.” in the Biloxi Diocese were says. no fatalities during the hurricane. lance. Thinking back, Wickham says destroyed or severely damaged The next day brought But afterward, we heard of every- That day, staff performed an he did whatever he could to pro- in the hurricane. momentary power outages thing going in New Orleans and emergency C-section in ICU with vide support to the people at the • The National Religious before it went out and the base other areas. We just wanted to equipment hooked up to emer- medical center. Retirement Office is serving as a went to backup generators. make sure their vital signs were gency generators. There was also “I hope I could be a source of center to help relocate elderly “Then the storm surge came stable. We wanted to keep every- a premature birth. strength,” he says. “They’re religious men and women dis- and basically flooded the entire one stable throughout this “During the hurricane, we strong people. There is a great placed by Hurricane Katrina. base,” Wickham says. “There ordeal.” actually added two to the popula- concept of southern hospitality. • The U.S. bishops are were white caps in the parking Back in Erie, Wickham’s tion,” Wickham says. “I’m not The first thing out of everybody’s appointing a task force to coordi- lot and cars floating around. The wife, Laura Sellitto, was trying to sure what day it was. That whole mouth was, ‘We’ve got to rebuild nate the Catholic response to ER is on the basement floor, so remain calm. Sellitto, the devel- week is pretty much blurred now,’ not ‘We have to move.’ recovery efforts. we evacuated ER and took opment director of St. Martin together.” They’re very strong people.” By the Way... Briefly Pilgrims recall encounters with pope at WYD Clergy Appointments 11th annual rosary By Jason Koshinskie age.” Two of the oldest parishes in the diocese FaithLife editor Ross Miceli, a St. Mark will celebrate milestone anniversaries in march set for Oct. 9 Seminary student at Gannon October. St. Francis of Assisi Parish in On a trip he inherited from his University, participated in a gath- The 11th annual Erie The Most Rev. Donald W. Trautman, S.T.D., Fr.