Louisiana Homeowner in Post-Isaac Conditions

When Tiffany Dusang, a homeowner in Plaquemines Parish, fought to salvage her home after Hurricane Katrina, she never thought that seven years later she would be fighting once again to gather what was left of her life. In the wake of Hurricane Isaac, that is exactly what she is doing -- but this time with a little help.

Tiffany's house is one of an estimated 13,000 in the state of Louisiana suffering damages from Isaac, the Category 1 hurricane that made landfall in Louisiana and Mississippi last week. Tiffany, her children, and her fiancé waited out the storm at home until the National Guard and State Police issued an evacuation due to severe flooding.

"I took my family and left," she said. "Luckily they let us back in the next morning, and the first people we saw were from Hope Force, which is really an inspiration. We need help down here, and you're here to help us."

In some areas of the Plaquemines Parish, flood waters reached 10-14 feet deep, and officials have currently brought in four pumps to help remove the excess water. Upon returning home, Tiffany likened her neighborhood to a ghost-town.

"Across the street was my brother in-law, and that was it," she said. "Then I saw [Hope Force] up on the roof. The last thing I want to worry about right now is tarping my roof. We thank you so much."

She explained that the side of her house had been blown in, requiring immediate covering. Other homes in the area suffered similar damages, leaving many people throughout the parish who were unable to evacuate stranded on their roof-tops.

"We're back to the blue tarp again, but that's okay," Tiffany said. "For Katrina they just gave us tarps, and we put them on ourselves. Now we have you down here helping us put them on." The temporary repairs came just in time for her family -- less than a week after Isaac, torrential rains blanketed the area, accompanied by tornado warnings. Without tarps protecting roofs damaged by Isaac, subsequent storms will easily damage the interior of a home through water incursion.

Besides tarps for leaking walls and roofs, Tiffany expressed a need for basic essentials, such as drinking water and ice. Roughly 50,000 people still remain without power in Louisiana, and high temperatures and humidity levels are not making cleanup an easy task.

"After Katrina it was hard for everybody," she said. "Now here we are, seven years later, some of us starting over again. We can do without electricity. We can figure it out. But we need survival tools. We need people like you to help us."

When tragic disasters occur, the mission of Hope Force is to empower our ranks of trained volunteers to serve. A one-time gift or a monthly commitment will help us build capacity, strengthen our infrastructure and expand that pathway of service for many. Come join us as we put our love and faith into compassionate action!