NEW ORLEANS — People down the bayou are still cleaning up after Hurricane Ida, and they will be for quite some time. The basic everyday necessities are hard to come by, but now a local leader is offering a creative solution to help make washing clothes a little easier.
In Dulac, the destruction is almost hard to fathom. The images are difficult to believe.
Even more than a month after Ida, many homes are destroyed, others like Kathy Verdin’s, are unlivable. The storm’s 150 mile an hour sustained winds left holes in her roof, though she is better off than most.
“I am grateful. I have something to come back to,” Verdin said. "Many people don’t.”
Part of Verdin’s new routine is driving across the bayou to this laundromat, made out of a storage container unit, hooked up to a generator. Just to be able to wash clothes, she said, is a blessing.
“Because we’ve never had this before, and we’ve been through many (storms),” said Verdin. “Juan was the one that brought the most water, like I said we’ve never had anything washers or dryers before ever.”
The man behind the makeshift laundry station is District 20 State Senator Big Mike Fesi. The idea came to him after Hurricane Laura hit Lake Charles.
“I had a crew working out of Lake Charles," the Senator said. "There was no place to wash their clothes, so I designed a quick fix. We took a container and made a washateria out of it.”
Manning the station for several hours in the morning and again at night is school teacher Janie Voisin. Like the rest of the community, she’s dealing with the devastation. Still, she said she had no choice but to volunteer.
“It’s hard to see everybody struggle. people down here struggle already,” Vosin said. “I care about the people in my community, and I just wanted to help.”
The ability to wash and dry your clothes is something you don’t really value until you can’t do it. People in parts of Terrebonne are still living in tents. This little service, Verdin said, makes a big difference.
Somehow through all of this, she's finding a way to stay positive. We asked her where that comes from.
“Faith. Lots of faith. Faith you don’t see but you know you have it,” said Verdin. “I can only trust in God."
The hours of the laundromat will be extended once they can get the unit hooked up to power. They’ve got the generator but it’s using a lot of gas.
Senator Fesi is looking for the help of an electrician who can offer services and the wire to hook it up to the gym next door. If you think you can help -- email sen20@legis.la.gov.