The house we spent most of the week working on was owned by a woman named Tonya Scott. We spent three days in her 2 story home and were able to get it all insulated, the ceilings drywalled and about half of the walls drywalled.
Here is Tonya's story:
“My life was normal,” Tanya said before pausing to qualify that statement “whatever normal means.” A life-long resident of New Orleans, Tanya worked as a L.P.N. for a V.A. hospital and clinic before the storm. She had what she described as a “basic and comfortable life” filled with work, friends and family.
As news forecasts began to suggest the power of the ensuing storm, Tanya was working 12-hour shifts at the V.A. hospital. In fact, having experienced many storms throughout her life, Tanya professed that she knew very little about the storm’s seriousness or severity until her mother, Audrey, informed her the eve before the mandatory evacuation.
The following afternoon, Tanya sat in disbelief as she watched Mayor Nagin announce the mandatory evacuation on the news. Tanya felt overwhelmed with the inundation of information and silently debated what, if any, course of action to take. Audrey, her mother, had already made the decision to evacuate the area; however, Tanya did not want to make any immediate or rash decisions.
Despite the pressure to evacuate, Tanya continued living her life. On Tuesday, the day of the storm, Tanya dropped her daughter, Nicole, off at work. The next day, Tanya recalls, “the sewers were backed up and the water was nearly chest-high. “Amidst this commotion, Tanya received a phone call from her frightened daughter, Nicole. Nicole expressed her fear that she might die. A week passed before Tanya received word that Nicole was O.K.
Tanya evacuated to Gonzales, LA, a city located in the Ascension Parish. She stayed in Gonzales for one week before relocating to Baton Rouge and then finally settling in Houston, Dallas for several months. In December of 2005, after months of instability, Tanya arrived back in New Orleans hoping to find some equanimity and begin the rebuilding process. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.
The storm waged heavy structural damage on Tanya’s home. Moreover, the aftermath of the storm played a significant role in the deterioration of her health. In early 2006, Tanya moved into a F.E.M.A. trailer. This living arrangement, Tanya believes, led to the worsening of her asthmatic condition. A fact she feels might be correlated to the presence of formaldhehyde, a chemical believed to be found in all new, unused and unventilated F.E.M.A. trailers.
In November of 2008, Tanya developed severe pneumonia that required invasive surgery to remove water from her lungs. Shortly thereafter, following doctor’s orders, Tanya moved out of the F.E.M.A trailer. To make matters worse, the funds Tanya received from the Road Home were used for a forced mortgage payoff. In other words, she now owned a home that she could not afford to rebuild. Moreover, Tanya allocated the remainder of her insurance money to a plumber who never rendered the services she had paid for. While Tanya has suffered a great deal both emotionally and physically, she remains confident and optimistic about her future in New Orleans.
To date, Tanya is excited that her house has begun the early stages of the rebuilding process. When asked what is the first thing she is going to do when she is reunited with her home? “Kiss all the walls, everything!”
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